Dream to Make Believe
by MizuKaji
Summary: Friday gets tangled up in the affairs of the supernatural through her dreams, and thinks that they are just that: dreams. But what happens when one morning she wakes up with her dream injury plainly visible in reality? Things get more complicated still when she ends up on Kurama's bad side and has to fight enemies with a killer sense of style. Literally. Set a few years post-anime.
1. Prologue

The muffled sound of a large crash rumbled throughout the building, making the very foundations tremble. Shouts were heard, along with what sounded like a stampede of heavy, running footsteps. But the queerest part was the fluttering, like many wings, that could be heard above the din.

"What in the three realms…" a high voice mused. The toddler hopped off the desk, and strode across the room, arms crossed behind his small back. He pushed the large, wooden door open. The noise increased tenfold.

Panic. Sheer panic. The chaos that met his eyes was unbelievable. Oni ran through the building like headless chickens, colliding with anything unfortunate enough to be in their path. The toddler looked up from the running feet. A mass of white greeted his eyes. Papers fell like snow from the highest reaches of the ceiling, fluttering gently down to the floor to be trampled underfoot.

The toddler's jaw went slack. His eyes bulged, and a vein protruded from his forehead. He took a deep breath. "YOU BRAINLESS BUFFOONS!" he screeched. The effect was immediate. Oni paused mid-step. Papers continued to fall in rustling piles on the floor, swamping the staff in a paper snowdrift. The toddler panted, his lungs constricted with rage.

"Now get to work cleaning this mess up! And not one paper out of place, you hear?" the toddler commanded, making the oni jump and rush around once more, this time with a purpose.

"Lord Koenma Sir!" a large, blue oni called, rushing down the hallway, expertly weaving between his fellow oni. He reached the massive doors just before they closed, and skidded to a halt, panting.

"What is it, George?" the little Lord Koenma demanded in a clipped tone.

"There's been a breach in Reikai defenses. It seems to be a break in, sir," the oni named George reported, still short on breath.

"Well, obviously it's a break in, you big blue buffoon!" the little ruler snapped, "Just tell me what was stolen, already!"

"Err… well, um… it's… we don't know, sir," George stuttered nervously.

"You don't know!" Koenma screeched.

"Um… well, it's just that… it looks like everything is in order, sir. Besides the papers, that is," the oni rushed to say.

The young ruler climbed back up onto his chair and tapped his fingers on the desk, thoughtfully. His brow creased. He sighed: "Very well, George. I guess we'll just have to wait until the papers are all put back in their proper places. It is likely that someone has tried to steal classified Reikai information. As to what this could mean…" The toddler stared blankly past George, thoughts on the papers falling like winter snow on the other side of the closed wooden doors.

He got a strange sense of foreboding. His hand inched toward the communicator, about to contact his former Spirit Detective, Yusuke Urameshi. No. His hand returned to join the other as he clasped them together before him. He was overreacting. What could be so important about a couple of papers anyway? All these near-end-of-the-world experiences were getting to him. And so Koenma came to the decision to wait until everything was sorted out before setting off any alarms.

**AN: This is my favorite story of the ones I've half-written so far, and will probably be the one most frequently updated as well as most likely to be continued. So far, I have 50+ pages written. Please review. **

**About the story title: _Dream to Make Believe_ is a song by Armor for Sleep, and I do not take credit for the title. This is not a songfic, but the song is strangely appropriate to the story. Also, it's a good song. Go listen to it if you want.**


	2. Awakening

**AN: Please bear with the initial slowness of this chapter. You can't contrast the supernatural with normal life without first showing the ordinariness of it all. Plus, this chapter sets up the personality of the main character. I promise the end of the chapter is more exciting, and will continue to have lots of action as the story goes on.**

Winter. Such a pleasant season. My favorite, in fact.

I sighed blissfully, cupping a mug of peppermint hot chocolate between my cold hands. The half-decorated Christmas tree stood before me, leaning slightly to the right. A Siamese cat played with one of the ornaments on the lower boughs, face reflected in the golden bulb. Growing bored, he turned and gave a pitiful "mrrrow" directed at me. I arched a dark eyebrow, and watched through the steam of the mug as he crossed the thick, carpeted floor to join me on the couch. He jumped up lightly, and curled into a furry ball beside me. I stroked him absentmindedly.

It was nice to be home for the holidays. College had been stressful, lately, my freshman year now behind me and real classes starting to kick in. And to top that all off, being on the dance team took up most of my free time. I wasn't sure I'd survive when finals came around. But I had showed them. Hahaha. I had practically chained myself to a bench-seat in the stacks down in the library basement to do it, but those finals had been taught who was boss. Now it was all gingerbread and hot cider and warm, fuzzy blankets from here on out.

My mom came out of the kitchen doorway behind the living room couch I was currently occupying, and stood behind me, ruffling my dark purple hair. I tilted my head back to look up at her with laughing brown eyes.

"I see you and Mr. Persnickety over here are bonding," she said in her calm, smooth voice as she proceeded to ruffle the cat's fur next. I laughed at the disgruntled look on his face.

"It's good to have you home. My baby's grown so old!" she gripped me in a bone-crushing hug from behind, nearly choking me and causing the chocolate to slosh dangerously in my mug. "19 already!" she wailed.

"Yeah, one foot in the grave and the other on a banana peel," I commented dryly.

She sniffed, and released me, "Well, excuse me, but soon your brother will be off to a college of his own, and then little Kaiya... I don't know what I'll do when there are no more children around to torment." My mom joked, throwing her hands in the air.

"Ah, the empty nest syndrome," I said, taking a sip of my drink. It slid down my throat, instantly warming me from the inside out. "You two love birds will think of something, I'm sure. Probably fill the nest again with some other little chicks."

My mom glared at me and punched my shoulder playfully. The ceramic of the mug clinked against my teeth. "Ow. Watch it, mom," I grumbled.

"Alright. Just remember if you end up with some new little brothers or sisters that it was your idea," she retorted, and ruffled my hair once more, walking out to go check on the cookies.

I just continued to sit, nestled on the couch, watching the rain fall against the windowpane. It didn't snow here, but around Christmastime it would consistently rain for about two weeks straight.

A while later the front door opened, the small wind-chime attached to the handle jingling to announce my father's arrival. He removed his suit jacket and hung it on the coat rack by the door. My brother followed after him. He was 17 now, and he often went with my dad to work. And it was for _fun_. I wrinkled my nose; I would never understand. I could just imagine those two, huddled together over some sketched-out plans for their next grand invention.

My brother, Dale, shook the rain out of his shaggy, dirty-blonde hair he had inherited from my now-gray father, looking for all the world like some mutt that had just strayed in. My mom's dazzlingly white-blonde head poked around the kitchen doorway. Ah, yes. Alas, it was my misfortune to inherit my hair from her side of the family. But I had quickly corrected that problem with a couple of boxes of hair dye at the soonest opportunity. I had left just one long, thick streak on the right side of my head undyed, and it mingled with the rest of my hair that reached to my mid-back. People said my white-blonde hair was nice. Personally, I think it made me look like a washed out ghost. So I dyed it. My eyes have always been brown. I'm still working on the whole convincing my mom I need color contacts thing.

Just then, my little sister, Kaiya, stumbled down the stairs, clutching a fuzzy blanket to her small chest. She sleepily rubbed her blue-grey eyes, the only one in our family besides my mother to have escaped the brown eyes syndrome. "Daddy! Dale!" she called, jumping up to greet them like a little lost puppy. Our father looked at her with smiling brown eyes from behind his rectangular rimless glasses.

Don't let Kaiya fool you. She's really 15, though she usually acts half her age. And I supposed it works, her being as short as she is. The two guys of the house are fairly tall, and my mom and I are both of average height, as women go. I don't really know how Kaiya ended up being such a little squirt. She barely reached my shoulder, and Dale could use her as an armrest. Which he was currently doing, in fact.

Kaiya's hair was long, like mine, except dirty blonde and falling in tight waves. I don't have a clue where those came from either, but I think she's probably adopted. That would also explain the naturally tan shade of her skin in a house full of pale people. Okay… so she's not adopted. I remember meeting her in my mom's swollen watermelon of a belly. But she could have been switched in the hospital. I have a changeling for a sister. A very cute, deceptive little changeling imp.

She flopped down on the couch, disturbing Mr. Persnickety's nap. Grouchily, he hopped off the couch and glared at her. Her head fell heavily onto my shoulder, and she snuggled closer to me, clutching her blanket around her small form. "Jeez, girl. You've got a heavy head there. Keeping it full, are we?" I teased her.

"Mmhmm," she responded, idly watching the flickering Christmas lights that danced over the half-decorated tree and ran over the top of our fake fireplace.

A highly suspicious crunching sound emanated from the kitchen. In the blink of an eye, I had hopped over the back of the couch and dashed into the kitchen, leaving Kaiya to fall over on the couch behind me with a small sound of protest.

"Dale!" I screamed, panicking as I looked at the remains of one of my army of freshly baked gingerbread soldiers. He was headless, having died a gruesome, gruesome death by teeth. One of his Red Hot eyes lay unblinking on the counter. Dale looked at me, startled, cheeks bulging. His eyes were wide in false innocence. It didn't fool me. The crumbs on his cheeks betrayed him as the culprit. We were frozen, staring into each other's eyes. He blinked.

"That's it! I'm gonna kill you! You are sooooo dead. Dead! Do you hear me? DEAD! Just like my effin gingerbread man!" I lunged, ready to rip out his jugular. A hand caught the back of my shirt collar, restraining me. My arms flailed in the air before Dale's face, just out of reach. Drat.

"Now, now. Calm down. Let's not be hasty," a deep voice of reason said.

"Dad! How can you side with this thief!" I shot back.

"Ooh. What's this? Gingerbread men…" I watched in dismay as a large hand reached over my shoulder, snatching up another helpless ginger-soldier. I stared, agape, frozen in place though the restraining hands were no longer holding me back. My feet were frozen to the floor. I heard a satisfied crunch.

"Nooooooooooooooooo!" I collapsed dramatically to the floor in the wake of this betrayal. Before you make any snap decisions, I just want to say I don't usually act like this. But as I'm sure you know, being in the presence of your immediate family alone gives you the license to behave exactly as you feel. They're your family, you know? They're pretty much stuck with you. No matter how strange you are.

After a moment, a hand tapped my shoulder. I looked up. My brother stood there, looking rather sheepish. He pulled me to my feet and shoved a glass of milk and a gingerbread cookie into my hands. "Thanks, Dale," I muttered, and he easily draped an arm around my shoulders, steering me toward the couch.

Our family was reunited again, clustered together in the cozy living room. I sat on the couch, sandwiched between my siblings, Kaiya's fuzzy blanket-monster nearly swallowing us all. My parents flanked us in their deep, padded armchairs. Together, we watched the flames that flickered between the fake logs in the fireplace. Twinkling Christmas lights lit up the room in splashes of color, and we listened to the patter of the rain as it slid past the window. Like any family, we had our issues to work out. But it sure was nice to be together again…

I must have fallen asleep, because I woke up sometime in the middle of the night surrounded by warm bodies. The thought briefly crossed my mind to get up and move to my room, but my eyelids soon drooped shut and closed once more. I slipped off into a dreamless sleep.

When I awoke, it was to the pleasing smell of my mom's crispy bacon. The rain continued to splash against the windows, but that wasn't a surprise. The living room was vacated. I wandered into the kitchen, where everyone was already standing around. My dad hovered over a pan of blueberry pancakes, and I grinned when I saw him.

"Well, look who's finally up," my mom commented lightly, stacking the bacon on a paper towel.

"We decided not to try to wake you and throw away our lives so needlessly," Dale commented, and mimed dying from his seat in the kitchen chair.

"Ha. Ha. Very funny. My sides are splitting," I retorted, brushing the sleep out of my eyes.

"Hey, better yours than mine," my brother replied, and broke out his wolfish grin.

I was ambushed from behind as tiny arms wrapped themselves around my neck, pulling me slightly backward. "Hiya!" my attacker said with great cheer.

"Good morning to you too, Kaiya," I told the small girl currently threatening to topple me over, freeing myself from her death-grip.

My mom brought the bacon to the table, causing us to immediately gather like sharks to a wounded baby seal. I noticed the eggs over easy that sat already on the table in a skillet covered with toast to keep them warm. My dad brought the tall stack of blueberry pancakes to the table. He slid a Mickey Mouse shaped pancake onto my plate, and I grinned. He just winked at me.

"Waaaaa!" my sister wailed, "How come she gets a pancake shaped like Mickey and we all get stuck with boring, circle pancakes?"

"They're not boring. Look, they're shaped like planets. Yours is the moon. See? The blueberries are the craters," Dale tried to convince Kaiya, knowing she would refuse to touch her pancakes otherwise.

My mother spoke up, to put an end to my sister's pouting: "Now, now, Kaiya. You know blueberry Mickey Mouse pancakes have always been Friday's favorite."

Yes. That's my real name. Friday. You must now surely be convinced that my parents are delusional. But there's an explanation. They were going to name _me_ Kaiya, until I was born on lucky Friday the 13th. My mother, being a spur-of-the-moment kind of person decided then and there to name me Friday. I still think they're delusional, but whatever. A name is a name is a name. Friday works just fine for me. And as far as I can tell, I've had a fairly regular run of luck. For the record, I happen to like Friday the 13th. It's my special day. The day that others shy away from.

We settled down to a normal holiday breakfast, gathering our strength before going to demolish the rest of the gingerbread army. Ordinarily, we wouldn't spend so much time together, but it was a holiday, and so everyone gathered in the living room despite pursuing our own pastimes.

I snuggled deep into the armchair situated under one of the windows, and rested my head against the cold glass pane. A steaming mug of hot apple cider rested on the small table next to me. I pulled my warm blanket tighter around me, and opened my book, burying myself in its yellowing pages until lunchtime. There's nothing quite like the smell of an old book. The corners of my mouth turned up in a contented smile.

Night came swiftly, and I made my way up the stairs to my room. My stomach growled contentedly, still digesting the large meal and late-night holiday treats. I patted it, saying, "I know how you feel." It was late. I could feel it in the way one is vaguely aware of unscheduled holiday time. I sighed and fell facedown onto my bed, arms stretched wide and hair splayed about me. The pillows engulfed my face. I just waited, holding my breath, listening to the sound of my heartbeat in my ears as it slowed. It felt like I laid there a long time before finally rolling over on my side and taking in a deep breath of oxygen. My neon blue digital clock face told me it was almost 1:00 in the morning.

All I wanted to do was lay there, but my more freak of a germaphobe side screamed at me to shower. Body protesting, I dragged myself into the bathroom and under the warm stream. Finally returning to my room, I pulled on some comfy clothes at random. I flopped backward onto my bed, damp hair leaving wet spots on my pillows. I flicked off the light and climbed under my heavenly down comforter. Within seconds, I had drifted into a deep sleep.

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A dull darkness surrounded me. I took note of the sound of my feet, slapping against the hard ground rhythmically. Wind tugged at my hair and clothing. From out of the blackness, colors slowly started seeping in, as if pulling me from its depths. Tall, grey walls blurred as they rushed past the edges of my vision. So, I was running.

A sudden prickling sensation at the back of my neck set off a burst of warning bells in my head. There was something to be afraid of. I could feel it behind me, but I wasn't sure I wanted to look. My feet pounded against the concrete with a new sense of urgency. I couldn't stop the surge of panic rising in my throat, choking me, making my breath come in ragged gasps.

What am I running from? A very good question, to be sure. But I don't have an answer. It was just… one of _those_ dreams. I **hate** _those _dreams. You know the kind I mean. A dream where you're running for what seems like forever from some unseen evil always close on your heels. Oh, it never catches you. A dreamer can't be caught in their own dream if they do not wish it. As long as the dreamer keeps running, that is. Once they stop, all bets are off.

And so the dreamer feels a surge of terror, goading them on, driving them to keep running. They could wake up, of course. That was always an option. One I often toyed with, myself, in fact. The trouble is, I never could quite break through to the realm of the conscious. At least, not when I was having a dream I wanted to escape from. No, life takes great pleasure in pulling you away from the good things, the peaceful moments that only come with sleep. But fears weigh the dreamer down. They make the dreamer forget _how _to wake up. At least, that's what I believe.

So now I'm stuck in this dream, running from some monster of my twisted subconscious' own creation. Yet another one in a long series of overplayed reruns. A "B movie". And though the plot is terribly boring and predictable… I can't fight the fear that consumes me, that makes me flee until my legs tremble and my lungs burn. Such dreams even have the gall to affect the realm of the waking; one wakes up exhausted, covered in sweat, with dark circles under one's eyes, after what was _supposed_ to be a time to escape the troubles of the day. I would have sighed, had it not been a waste of precious oxygen. I wish they would just cancel this show already. But as everyone knows, there's just nothing good on anymore. All the channels are the same. Good stories sit abandoned to be covered in virtual dust.

My feet sting, like I'm walking on needles. I look down and can't stop the frown that comes to my face. Why in the name of Hades am I out here barefoot? Really, subconscious, this is the best you could come up with? But the outrage doesn't stop there, of course. Oh, no. As I look down, I notice I'm still in my baggy black sweats and light grey zip-up hoodie. I groan, mentally, knowing this means all I have on underneath is a black sports bra. How do I know this, you ask? Well, this time I _do _have an answer. I fell asleep in this, of course.

If you ask me, though, I'd say my subconscious really needs a good dose of this thing called _imagination_. I mean, seriously. It's not hard. It doesn't even have to make up something completely original. It could find some clothes for me from a magazine, or a friend's repertoire. Hell, just pick something from my _own_ closet, for all I care. Just as long as I'm not running around in my bra, through a city, at night, barefoot, being chased by an effing monster-thing. Oh, the humiliation!

At least it's only a dream…

**AN: Please review! Thank you for reading :)**


	3. Nightmare

Shuichi Minamino sat at his desk in front of the window, a small lamp on to provide illumination in the wan light of a winter evening. He led an ordinary human life, and was quite content with it, having forsaken his demon identity a few years past. Just a normal human, whom nothing eventful ever happened to.

His hair was short now, Shuichi having cut it when he decided not to do battle again. Having a place to store his weapons would prove nothing more than a temptation, after all, and anyway such a thing was useless in his new life. No, he was an ordinary human male now. He derived great pleasure from the thought. And he had vowed to have nothing to do with the supernatural again…

A girl ran by on the street just under his window, with pounding feet, startling him out of his reverie. A towering creature straight from out of a nightmare followed.

Shuichi blinked. Absolutely nothing to do with the supernatural again…

What he had seen must have been a trick of his imagination. Yes, that was it. Just a passing shadow, or perhaps a cat scampering by. A very large, scruffy, alley cat. If there was anything serious, Yusuke and Kuwabara were perfectly capable of handling it by themselves. He would not get involved. Not this time… Ah, screw it. (In the words of Yusuke himself).

Shuichi stood abruptly. With a glance to ensure his door was indeed locked, he yanked the window open and jumped though, landing with surprising grace on the street below his second story room. Well, at least it seemed his brief time of respite had not dulled his physical abilities too much. He should certainly still be able to take on a lowly D class apparition.

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As I ran, I noticed subtle signs that seemed to hint I was somewhere in Japan. Like the fact that I couldn't read any of the street signs. And 100% of the handful of people I passed were Asian.

I screeched to a halt at the end of a dead-end street. Just my luck. Though I guess with the way my body was protesting, it wouldn't have been long anyway. It felt like I had been running for hours. And who knows? Maybe I had. Maybe this dead-end was for the best. It meant I could wake up soon, right? Then I could have another shot at a different, quieter dream.

I still hesitated when turning around. I wasn't too keen on facing my pursuer. As the huge creature came bounding up behind me, I winced. Yup. Just as horrible and ugly as I had imagined. I braced myself for the impact I wouldn't feel. There was no point in screaming, so I just kept my mouth shut. My hands clenched at my sides as I strained to keep myself from any pitiful attempts at running that would only make me look foolish, in the end.

The creature leaped. I couldn't help it; my eyes squeezed shut. Ah. There, that wasn't so bad. See? No impact. When I opened my eyes again, I was positive I'd see the familiar sight of the neon blue digital clock face staring at me from my bedside table.

A splatter of something wet hit my cheek. I frowned. The last time I'd checked, we didn't have a dog. (Despite all my convincing speeches, charm, and charisma. Alas.) My eyes slowly fluttered open. A man stood with his back to me. I couldn't be sure, but he looked young, perhaps only a little older than myself. His short hair was a shocking red, so I was fairly certain he wasn't Asian. His posture said wordlessly that he was shielding me from something.

A superhero dream? Well, this was a new one, I'll admit. (Though he could've gotten here a little sooner, in my opinion. You know,_ before_ I had to run around the whole dang city for hours.) I touched my fingertips to my cheek, suddenly remembering. They came away stained with a dark liquid. Blood…?

It was then that I noticed the remains of whatever creature that had been. My eyes widened. I must have gasped, because the man turned around, fixing a startling green gaze on me.

"Are you alright, Miss? I'm terribly sorry about that," the man said, reaching out with a sleeve to wipe off the remaining liquid. I barely restrained the flinch that threatened to break the surface. He had helped me, after all. It was silly to be afraid of him. But… turning such a horrifying monster into that… My eyes strayed to the mangled body parts. The stranger stepped in front of me, as if trying to block my view. A frown tugged at the corner of my mouth. My eyebrows crinkled together. I took a breath and opened my mouth to say… what? What could I possibly say about this? Changing my mind, I shut my mouth, chewing on my lower lip.

The strange man—who I had decided was definitely Asian, despite his deceiving first impression—suddenly gripped my shoulders. It wasn't painful, but it left no room for argument. "Now, how about you allow me to escort you home? I would hate to let you go wandering around by yourself at night with something so dangerous around." His voice was smooth, persuading.

I became dimly aware that he was speaking in Japanese. I had never known Japanese. Oh, I had always wanted to speak it. I had tried to learn it, but never got very far. Perhaps my subconscious understood it better than I ever would. It was the only explanation I could think of to explain why I suddenly knew Japanese. At least, I thought it was Japanese. Maybe it was just my brain's mangled interpretation of the language. Speaking of mangled… My eyes couldn't help being pulled like little magnets back to the grotesque sight I could just make out if I tilted my head to look over his shoulder. I gulped.

"You're dangerous!" I wanted to scream, but the words would not leave my throat, a good thing because I soon thought better of them. A thin line of blood marred his cheek. The instant my eyes touched it, they settled and refused to budge. I was suddenly overcome with guilt. A strange sensation to feel so strongly within a dream, but I felt it nonetheless. This man had _saved _me. He had gotten injured protecting me. And here I was, my mind running frantically about, thinking how dangerous and scary he was. I should have trusted the man who saved my life a little bit more. I felt very petty and small, just then.

"Your cheek," I said, reaching out to wipe the blood away with my fingertips, "Gomenasai…" Huh. That was strange. Apparently my subconscious was deciding I should be speaking Japanese as well. When in Rome… I guess.

His reaction wasn't what I expected. He _grimaced_ and pulled away. Can you believe it? Honestly, I felt just a little bit insulted. I had _humbled_ myself and stepped away from my pride, deeming him a decent person, and actually bothered to feel _concerned_ for his condition. Well, I take it back. Let him be a jerk, for all I care. A conceited, redheaded, stuck up, eye-meltingly handsome jerk. I resisted the childish urge to stick my tongue out at his turned back. Apparently he couldn't even be bothered to face me now. Hmph! I crossed my arms over my chest. About to tap my foot, I suddenly remembered my shoeless condition. Thwarted. Drat! There were few things that felt worse than a thwarted foot-tap. Alright, perhaps I was overreacting to the situation a little bit. He _had_ saved me, after all. I should be able to overlook his grimace… and the fact that he still wasn't even bothering to look at me.

I blinked. Wait a second. What had happened to that monster/creature/thing? All traces of it had mysteriously vanished. Something vine-like slithered back to the man, who crouched down and stretched out a hand to pick it up as it seemingly vanished. Something wasn't right here. And I was convinced that something was him. This was all just too strange. Something prickled in the back of my mind, as if to warn me, but I had already reached that conclusion, for once way ahead of my "cat-senses", as I fondly called them. They were usually quite reliable, too.

I needed to get out of here, and fast. No sooner had the thought crossed my mind than I sat up with a jolt. With a relieved sigh, my body slumped back into the mass of pillows. 3:30 am. What an ungodly time. Had I really only been asleep for two hours? I yawned, feeling much more tired than I should have, and slipped back into sleep. But this time, no dreams followed. Only darkness.

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Shuichi's mind raced as he thought up an excuse that could distract the poor girl. Though, perhaps it wasn't fair to call her a girl. She seemed to be almost as old as his human body. He had sensed her fear, not only of the monster, but of himself as well. He needed to walk her home, to buy some time to think up a way to erase her memories. He currently had no seeds on him that would do the trick; he was unarmed, except for the plants that grew naturally around him. He nearly cursed himself for his carelessness.

He shouldn't have been so careless to come here unarmed. Scratched by a mere D class apparition, of all things! Oh, the demon was pitifully easy to take down, but to let it even touch him in the process… It was practically unthinkable how much his powers had dulled. He supposed he should thank his luck that he had not been attacked and forced into a serious fight during these past few years. But now the futility of his hope to live a normal human existence was brought to light. The fact was, demons existed, the supernatural existed, and he was once a part of it. He still was, despite however much he tried to deny it. One could not change one's own nature. And his was a nature that brought the supernatural to him, seeking him out.

Shuichi reined in a sigh that threatened to escape his lips as he collected the last "janitor plant" from the scene. He fixed what he hoped to be a convincingly pleasant smile on his face and turned around to face the girl. She was nowhere in sight. His smile faltered, falling from his face altogether.

It was a dead end street. He was standing in front of the only exit. The walls were 6 feet tall with no openings. No normal human could vanish into thin air. If she had tried to escape, he was certain he would have at least heard her move. His eyes narrowed. Something about that woman was not right.

**AN: Just to clarify a couple things without breaking the flow of the story: (1) These creatures are indeed huge (like school bus status) though some vary (2) The reason why Friday alternates between a dreamless sleep and ending up in the YYH world in her dreams is because her powers are just now awakening. It's not an author slip-up.**

**Please review! Thank you for reading :)**


	4. Beat

"And the jerk I used to think was a decent human being is too busy staring at Sandra Bozini's rear end to give me the time of day!" I ranted, as my mom patiently listened to the tirade. I crossed my arms over my chest and huffed.

"Well, Friday, maybe if you stopped dying your hair such a hideous shade of purple-" she attempted to reason with me. I wouldn't hear it.

"I _like_ this hideous shade of purple," I retorted, tugging on a strand. Hey, it was nice. Dark, like the filling of a baked blueberry pie. A thick stripe of long, white-blonde hair fell into my right eye. Ah, my natural hair color. We meet again… I blew it harshly out of my face.

My pent-up frustration suddenly dissipated and I sighed. I knew why I was ranting like this about college-life. And it didn't have anything to do with dorm drama, or even my mother, so she really shouldn't have to listen to this. It was that ridiculous dream from last night. I don't usually remember much about my dreams, but this one stuck with me. And so did all the mood swings and crazy emotions that went with it. And now they'd successfully hijacked my morning, too.

"Sorry, mom. I don't mean to rant like this… I just… I had an awful dream last night," I opted for the truth, deflating as walked over to plop my head down on her shoulder. We stood there for a moment, and she patted my head.

"Let's make some more cookies," she suggested a moment later, "Take your mind off things."

"A tribe of gingerbread Cyclops?" I suggested hopefully.

She laughed, responding with a "Sure," and we set about filling the house with the wondrous scent of baked goods.

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Another dream? Noise pounded rhythmically at my eardrums, begging to be let in. From the darkness, bright colored lights flashed into my eyes, blinding me. I blinked, an arm up to shield my eyes. Slowly, I lowered my hand, and looked around curiously. A club? I'll admit I'd never been in one. I absolutely _loved_ to dance, that's for sure. But that passion mostly just extended to school dances and participating in the exclusive school dance team, a fact that I'm actually quite proud of. I guess that meant I was a pretty decent hip-hop dancer. I wouldn't know about that. All I knew is that I loved it. The feel of music moving through my body and my body responding.

A circle formed, just in front of me, and I watched as others took their fill of the spotlight. Now, normally, the very thought of clearing a circle so everyone could watch me would have made me shudder, despite the fact that I'd had my share of solos on the dance team. It's just a different atmosphere, when you're on the dance floor surrounded by others, like a formless beast that watches you with judgmental eyes. So, naturally, I was surprised when my body jumped into the circle, seemingly of its own accord, and began to dance to the beat of the music. But it was just a dream, and so I felt no fear or hesitation. Just the music.

I let the music fill me as I danced the frustrations of the day away, and when I was done I vacated the clearing, letting another take my place. I ran my fingers through the slightly sweaty locks that met my scalp, and shook my hair out. Now the rush of adrenaline was fading, and the loud music and flashing lights were beginning to press down on me like an invisible weight. I decided to get out of there, slipping out into the cool night air.

I unzipped my jacket, letting the breeze cool me down. As it did, I took stock of my clothing. Nice choice, subconscious. Certainly much better than the last time. It was unusual, punkish, but not revealing or slutty. I looked like a hip-hop dancer, plain and simple, which I was. Actually, this looked like stuff I would wear on a normal day outside my little dream world.

And it really was a little dream world, I realized with a frown. I could've sworn I'd passed some of this same stuff last time. Only last time I hadn't exactly had the time to stop and admire any of my surroundings. The signs were in Japanese. With a start, I realized the faces I was passing were Japanese, as were the people I had just left behind in the club. Where exactly was this dream world, anyway? I craned my neck, looking around for any landmark I might recognize.

A tall, orange tower rose in the distance: Tokyo tower. So, I was in Tokyo. Well, that was nice. I'd always wanted to see Tokyo. And what better time than now? I decided to have myself a nice look around.

I was quite enjoying my little tour of the city, having just poked my head into one of many small stores to have a peek. The streets were growing progressively emptier as I moved away from the hub of the city.

A scream nearby caused my whole body to tense. Before my brain had really registered what I was doing, I found my feet running toward the source of the sound. I had to do a double take when I almost passed the alley. A blue-haired woman was backed up against the wall, being cornered by two men in suits. She held a shoulder, like it had been injured. The woman bent to pick up a baseball bat that had fallen at her feet. "I'm warning you," she began, but her hand she clutched the bat in was shaking.

My body hijacked my brain once again, like it had in the club, and I charged down the alley, thinking nothing of consequences. There are no serious consequences in dreams, anyway. I could afford to be reckless. Apparently that approach worked, and the two men were taken by surprise. "Kiyaaaa!" I shouted, jumping up and delivering a swift roundhouse kick to their stupid heads. Yup. Definitely dreaming. There was no way the waking me had the strength or courage to do something both so bold and incredibly foolish. I'd never so much as punched anyone before... though admittedly I had always wanted to try, just to see what I could do.

The two men hit the ground with dull thuds.

"Uh… thanks," the woman said, rather shakily.

"Don't mention it," I replied, feeling rather proud of myself nonetheless.

She quickly bent down and sprayed… bug spray… in their faces? What on earth? My eyes nearly popped out of my head at what I saw next. I couldn't suppress a shudder as two of the most deformed bugs I've ever seen crawled out of the two men who I now noticed had strangely tinted skin.

"B-b-b-bugs!" I exclaimed. Now, I wasn't so prissy as to let a bug or two scare me. But a parasite bug infestation… There's only one thing I can say in that situation: eek!

"O-oh! You can see them?" the blue haired girl said, jumping up and putting a hand behind her head in a nervous gesture.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked suspiciously.

"Oh, it's nothing. Forget I said anything. I was just sent down here by my boss to take care of a… um… slight bug infestation… um… bot flies, and the like… Nothing to worry yourself about!" she said by way of explanation. I got the feeling her mouth was running away with her a bit, because she looked like my sister caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

"I see…" I replied, unable to think of anything else to say.

"Well, I'll be off now. Thanks for the help. I was in a real pinch there!" she said in a bubbly way, and bounced out.

"Uh… yeah. No problem," I muttered, but I think she was out of earshot.

Looking at the collapsed men, I got the same unpleasant tingling feeling as my cat-senses went off. "Yeah, I hear ya," I muttered to myself, not liking this one bit. I was starting to wish for another dream world. The kind I used to have: simple and thoroughly uncomplicated.

I decided to follow the strange, blue-haired woman's example and bounce before these thugs woke up. However, I couldn't help but notice one last thing before I left. These men didn't look like the type to attack a woman in an alley. They were clean-shaven, and I could tell that the suits they wore looked expensive, even roughed up as they were. Did this have something to do with the bugs? I shuddered again. What was this: mad bug disease? I left the alley and its secrets behind as soon as possible. After that, my self-tour lost some of its excitement. Truthfully, I dragged my feet most of the way around the city. It was already into the early hours of the morning in Tokyo by the time I escaped that dream world and opened my eyes back in my familiar room.

.

.

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"Aiiiieeeeee!" my little sister screeched, swaying on Dale's tall shoulders as she tried to wrestle the top of the tree into the wire frame of the star topper.

"Jeez, Kaiya. I think you just made my eardrums burst," Dale complained loudly.

I watched from the floor, where I was currently playing keep-away with Mr. Persnickety who desperately wanted the dangling ornament. My dad was working on getting the little train running around the base of the tree, and my mom was fixing the stockings to the mantle.

I waited until Kaiya had gotten the star placed just to her liking before resuming my task of hanging the ornaments, knowing better than to be underfoot while she was working on such a delicate task. For all I knew, the tree could topple on me. Last year it had been Dale.

Our family was never in too much of a hurry to get our tree decorated. We left it up until the last possible moment, anyway. Besides, there were still a few long weeks of wonderful winter break ahead in which to enjoy the Christmas cheer.

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.

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I was starting to get the hang of this routine. First the blackness, then the sound, then light and color bursting into my vision. I wasn't really surprised to find I was in Tokyo. Nor that it was just around 5:30, judging by the setting winter sun. Seeing the sky change over dream-world Tokyo in the light of sunset was starting to feel like an ordinary occurrence. This was a pleasant little spot I'd found myself in, under a bridge on the bank of the river.

Sighing, I walked out onto the uncovered grass and stretched out on my back, folding my arms behind my head as the sky overhead did a wonderful impression of rainbow sherbet. A rustling sound from under the bridge disturbed my thoughts, followed by a clang as something metal tipped over. I peered with narrowed eyes through the twilight, trying to see into the darkness under the bridge.

There was a sharp yelp, and a large, dark grey, furry body was sent tumbling out into the light. It stood, limping, leg bleeding, and I realized that it was a dog: a scruffy, street-mutt from the looks of it. And it was in trouble.

I saw the shadowy mass under the bridge move through my peripherals. My eyes snapped up to be met with a very large pair that stared back at me, seeming to glow with a light of their own. I jerked to a seated position, my breath catching in my throat.

The large, luminous eyes moved from my own to stare down at the poor dog. Why didn't it move? Despite the situation, the dog stood its ground, growling and baring teeth at the thing in the darkness. Its pointed ears were pressed flat against its skull in an expression of anger, and its lips curled back from its sharp snout. It was going to get seriously hurt. As I was contemplating convincing the dog to run off, the thing suddenly lunged.

There was no time. Before I could form a coherent thought in my head, I found myself in front of the dog, blocking it from the attack. I regained some of my confidence that I could only seem to find in sleep, and jumped to meet the thing, delivering a swift uppercut to its jaw that sent it reeling backwards despite its massive size.

And so the fight continued. While the creature had the upper hand in size and possibly strength, I found that I was considerably faster and more agile. I delivered a finishing blow that sent it reeling into the river with a terrible shriek. It went under with a splash, and though I couldn't see it, I somehow felt it disappearing, like it was crumbling away. The creature wouldn't be coming back, of that I was positive.

Panting, I turned to face the dog, reaching out a hand to check its injury, but it snapped at me, and I snatched my hand back to my chest. The dog ran from the place faster than I would have expected with a bleeding leg, disappearing into the street before I could make a move to follow. "How's that for gratitude," I grumbled to myself, sinking down to sit on the grass, arms on my knees. I rested my head on folded arms and closed my eyes, thinking.

.

.

.

The dream that followed the next night was much like the last, except this time it happened in a playground, and in the dog's place was a small child. The creature like a shadowy beast was the same, though it looked a little bit different from the other two I'd seen. Maybe they were relatives?

I couldn't seem to make much sense of the dreams, except that I woke up exceptionally tired each morning. It was a good thing there were still a few weeks of break. There was no way I could concentrate on something like school when all I wanted to do was crawl back in bed. I had to get these dreams under control by then.

But I have to say, although the dreams were exhausting, they were also thrilling. Adrenaline pumped through my veins as I got to fight back when confronted by creatures from my nightmares. It was… well… awesome, for lack of a better word. I was like Sailor Moon, except I literally kicked ass. No sissy magic words or fancy items for me. Just the strength of my own dream-body alone. It felt good.

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**AN: Uh, yeah... think of that last portion (you know, where I skipped a whole fight) less as laziness and more as economy of words... And by the way, ever notice the Makai insects seem to be the first on the scene whenever there's any type of disturbance in the human world? It's weird.**

**(Alternate title: A Small Dream, After All) ((And now the song is stuck in your head :D))**

**Please review! Thank you for reading :)**


	5. Silhouette

"What?" the muffled shout was heard even through the heavy wooden doors. The quiet hum of toned-down voices continued for a couple minutes before the doors swung open. A scruffy, dark grey canine with a bandaged leg slipped silently around the door. Silver eyes flicked briefly toward the group, one marred by a long-healed scar that ran diagonally over the eyelid and across the cheekbone, only by a huge stroke of luck leaving the eye itself unscathed.

The former Spirit Detective, Yusuke Urameshi, and his gang watched the dog as it wound its way through their small group and padded off down the oni-filled hallway.

"Hey, you know anything about that mutt, Botan?" Yusuke broke the silence, jerking a thumb at the dog, "Koenma allowed pets now or something?"

"Oh, uh…" Botan burst into a short bout of nervous laughter, "I can't really say…" Yusuke just shrugged a "whatever."

"Well, what are you just standing there for?" a shrill, angry voice came from around the door that stood slightly ajar, "Hurry up and get in here! I called you because this was important!"

"Keep your diaper on, Pacifier Breath," the infamous Yusuke Urameshi retorted loudly, as he pushed the door open and stepped inside. His three companions and Botan followed.

"Good, you're all here," Koenma said as he surveyed them from his perch atop his desk, arms crossed behind his back.

"Yeah, yeah, let's cut the crap," Yusuke drawled as he plopped down on the couch, not in the least bit happy to be spending his evening here.

Koenma sighed. After all these years, Yusuke still hadn't changed. "Very well, then," he replied seriously, "Someone broke into Reikai, not two days ago."

The redhead frowned. "Why didn't you notify us sooner?" he asked, concern tinting his voice.

"Hn. Who cares, Kurama," the short apparition with spiky, black hair retorted.

"Please, calm down, Hiei. I would not have called you if I didn't have a purpose," Koenma ensured the hostile fire-demon.

"Oh, come on, Hiei. Lighten up," Yusuke said, laughingly, "You're probably just pissed because it brings back memories of when you robbed the Reikai vault and were caught by yours truly." Yusuke's thumb went to his chest, as a cocky grin adorned his face.

"Remove that ridiculous expression from your face before I do it for you," Hiei growled, one hand on his katana. That was a particularly sore spot for the fire apparition, and time had still not completely quenched the sting.

"Will you all please _pay attention_!" Koenma snapped, glaring about the room. They tore their gazes from the conflict and back to the small ruler, but the tension in the room was so thick it could have been cut with a knife.

Koenma coughed, and gulped nervously, "Ah… yes, anyway. As I was saying, there has been a recent breach in Reikai security, allowing a thief to slip in."

"And… what did they take?" a carrot-top spoke up for the first time.

"Glad you asked, Kuwabara," the small prince responded, but fidgeted with his collar nervously, thinking of how Hiei's katana would feel against his neck if the answer wasn't to his satisfaction. "They stole classified information."

The group of former detectives blinked, nonplussed. "And…" Yusuke prompted, "Is someone plotting to destroy the Ningenkai again, or something?"

"Uh, well. We don't really know," the young ruler said, feeling a bit like George had in his earlier report, but trying to keep an authoritative front nonetheless.

"Hn. This is a waste of my time," Hiei said briefly, and stood to leave.

"Koenma," the redhead spoke up, causing Hiei to halt his premature exit, "What information was it that was stolen, exactly?"

"A very good question, Kurama, but you see, it was classified. We, uh, don't really have a catalogue of classified information," the young ruler felt rather sheepish, and hastened to add, "But it is classified information, that should under no circumstances make its way into demon or human hands. Almost all information that is classified is as such because it is dangerous.

"I called you here to warn you. Keep an eye open for anything unusual, and report to me immediately if it turns out to be another end-of-the-world case. There have been strange apparitions popping up around Tokyo city. They appear to be only D class, so far, but they can be quite tricky. These apparitions even gave one of my more skilled agents some trouble. It would seem they can manifest out of thin air. "

The prince's final words were sobering. For a moment a heavy silence filled the room. Kurama didn't say anything, but as he sat silent, he wondered if the apparition that had given him a rude awakening was one of the aforementioned. Hiei turned and vanished, knowing the predictable outcome of the meeting.

With Hiei's departure the moment was broken, and Yusuke stood, stretching out his shoulder. "Alright, I'll keep an eye out for you, Koenma. But you could have just contacted me with those communicators. Isn't that what they're for anyway? I had a perfectly good evening with Keiko planned, and now she'll probably be all upset with me…" Yusuke grumbled as he trudged out of the room, Kuwabara close on his tail.

"Wait, Yusuke…" Koenma said, and the ex-detective paused, "You may have some help," Koenma said, trying to pacify the temperamental Mazoku.

"Well that's just great and dandy. I'll be sure to _maybe_ count on that, then," Yusuke snapped grumpily as he left the room, arms crossed behind his head. Kuwabara muttered a goodbye to the prince as he followed his friend out the door. Botan popped out as well, with a farewell of her own to Koenma.

Kurama stayed. "Koenma, if I may, I have a few questions for you," he stated.

"Of course, go ahead," Koenma responded, glad to have such a talented former-thief on his side. It might help shed some light on the subject.

"What exactly happened that day? What was the condition of the break-in site?" Kurama drilled the young ruler, and listened silently to his account of the day.

"You say the whole building was in chaos? How so?" Kurama questioned, one eyebrow raised.

"It was awful," Koenma rubbed his temples, "The whole building was shaking, papers everywhere, oni running amuck…"

"These papers… they were not only the classified documents, am I correct?" he said with keen eyes of brilliant emerald green.

The royal toddler nodded: "It was like someone turned the whole place upside down and shook it. All of the papers were out of place. It took the whole staff until today to re-file it." He moaned, feeling the oncoming headache. "Why do you ask?" the young ruler said, suddenly curious.

It took a moment for the fox to answer. "Just a hunch," he said, "I will assist you in keeping an eye out for information." He made to leave.

"Thank you, Kurama," Koenma said, feeling the first real relief in days, "Oh, and the short hair… it's a good look for you." The young ruler had been a bit surprised, at first, having not seen the demon in years. But once he got over the initial shock, he had to admit it was pretty decent, actually.

A slight frown came to Kurama's lips. Not exactly the reaction Koenma had been expecting. "I'm afraid I may have to grow it out again in light of things," the fox mused, more to himself than the young ruler, and left the building, returning home to his mother in Ningenkai.

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.

.

I grinned fiercely as the sharp wind pulled at my hair. My subconscious had come up with the perfect outfit of the color black to help me blend into the shadows. Hopefully, this way, I would be able to sneak up on my opponents before they could get the jump on me. What was I doing sneaking up on these horrifying creatures, you ask? No, I hadn't lost my mind. I was hunting them down, of course. Oh god, I think I've become a fighting junkie…

I shook my head to clear it, and focused on balancing on the edge of the two-story building, peering down into the alley. I could see it, the telltale sign that something was down there. A barely perceptible flash here and there, like a broken pile of glass: transparent, yet reflective. Without a warning, I descended on it from above, smashing into it with the heel of my palm, which tingled with a strange glow. The shadowy creature disappeared, shimmering from the bottom up as it broke into what seemed like a thousand fragments of light. It was getting easier to defeat them, I noticed. At this rate, I could fight multiple of the creatures each night with ease. Which is what I had been doing for the past few nights.

I don't really know why. I mean, it's all a dream, but I felt this urge inside of me to keep the people of this city safe. Maybe it was just the newfound fighting junkie in me. Maybe it was the crazy image that kept popping up in my head of myself as Sailor Moon. Who knows; it could be anything, really. But the feeling that I got when I saw one of those shadow creatures… The feeling that something was just… wrong somehow. I wanted to protect them all from it, no matter how ridiculous that may seem.

"Hey, you!" a loud male voice startled me out of my thoughts. My eyes darted up to glance at the tensed figure. I jumped, and spun around, running as fast as I could in the opposite direction through the shadows. Who knows how much he'd seen, but I wasn't about to take any chances. That guy looked like he had plenty of fighting experience under his belt.

"Wait up!" the man called, but I ignored him and kept running, eventually losing him in the sea of people. With any luck, he hadn't seen my face in the shadows.

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.

.

Yusuke pulled up short at the end of the alley and cursed. Dammit. He'd lost her. And he didn't know what she looked like to even begin searching for the woman. He pulled a small communicator out of his pocket and flipped it open. The video function wouldn't work for so many, but he could have a conference call with the whole gang now, with the improved technology Koenma had provided. Yusuke pressed a button and waited for the others to pick up. He shared some brief banter with Kuwabara, waiting for everyone to respond. When they were all on the line, he cleared his throat and began:

"So, I was walking along near my house when I felt this weird energy pop up, and I thought I'd go check it out. Well, I was heading over there, and suddenly I realized there were two, so I started running. I got to the mouth of the alley just in time to see something real interesting. It's kind of hard to explain, but there was sort of this writhing shadow, but then this bright light just sort of… well, blew it to bits isn't really the right word. It was sort of shimmery, and err… rather pretty to look at, actually…" Yusuke rubbed his head, embarrassed though they couldn't see the gesture.

"Seriously, Urameshi? You're calling us 'cause you saw a pretty light in an alley," Kuwabara complained, though it was mostly to tease his long-time friend.

"Shut it, Kuwabara," Yusuke continued, "So as I was saying, there was this light, and then the shadowy thing disappeared, and there was this woman standing there. So I yelled, trying to get her attention, but she just turned and ran. I chased her, but I lost her in the crowd."

"Hmm… well, that's certainly a lot to think about, Yusuke," Kurama's smooth voice came through the device, "We can split up and help you look. Just give us a description of the woman's appearance."

"Err…" Yusuke hesitated, even more embarrassed to admit, "Well, you see, it was dark in the alley, so I couldn't see her at all. Though her eyes did seem to sort of… well, glow a bit."

"Wait a second," Kuwabara's rough voice came through, "If you didn't see 'her' and you didn't speak with 'her', then how do you know it's actually a 'her.'"

"A man doesn't have a silhouette like that, Kuwabara," Yusuke retorted.

"That's something to go on, Yusuke. Could you describe her silhouette, perhaps. For example, was she tall or short?" Kurama, the voice of reason, spoke.

"Um… well, she looked pretty average, actually. Not particularly short or tall. She didn't look like she had a lot up top, but it's hard to say, really. Probably a B…" Yusuke mused.

Cries of "Yusuke!" and "Urameshi!" came through the device as Botan and Kuwabara scolded him simultaneously.

"Jeez… sorry. Calm down," Yusuke said, "Umm… where was I? Oh, yeah. Sizable hips. Trim waist. An overall slim figure. Long hair, about mid-back. She was wearing it down, but I guess that could change… now that I think about it, if we're looking for her in a crowd or somewhere other than a dark alley, then her eyes probably won't be glowing either…"

"Anything peculiar about her energy signal?" Kurama asked, interrupting Yusuke's rambling thoughts.

"Well, now that you mention it… she didn't seem to have a particularly large amount of spirit energy. Nothing to make her stand out in a crowd, you know? But there was just this… this feeling. Something about it was off, somehow. Almost in the same way as that shadow thing, but… not quite like that either."

Koenma interrupted Yusuke, eager to start the search, "Yes, anyway. If you sense any unusual energy signals, check the person to see if any of this matches. Now get going."

"Keep your diaper on, Pacifier Breath," Yusuke grumbled, clenching the communicator.

"Let's meet up in an hour outside of Yusuke's if we don't find anything. It seems to be a rather convenient meeting point, considering the location Yusuke last saw this woman in. Will you be joining us, Hiei?" Kurama asked.

"Hn," Hiei responded, which Kurama took to mean yes.

"I'll be joining you, as well, though I'll probably be circling a wider radius above the city on my oar," Botan supplied.

"Alright, enough chit chat," Yusuke said with determination, "Let's find this chick." He snapped the communicator shut and grinned. "Lemme see… if I were a strange chick who goes around getting the jump on demons at night, where would I be?"

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Botan floated high above the city on her oar, peering down with surprisingly sharp eyes, tapping a finger to her chin in thought. Hmm… she couldn't really distinguish any unusual spirit energies from this distance, so perhaps she ought to be looking for lights. After all, it was entirely likely the woman would pursue a course of action similar to her last.

Still, there were a lot of flashing lights around. Out of the corner of her eye, Botan caught a glimpse of something exceedingly bright. She whipped her head around to catch the tail end of it. A light of an unnatural consistency shimmered and twisted oddly for a brief moment before disappearing.

Wasting no time in deliberation, Botan sped on her oar toward the source. She made it just in time to see a shadowy form sauntering leisurely through the alley. Hovering high in the air, Botan pulled out her communicator, and pressed a button that would put them all on.

"Everyone! I think I've spotted her. She's right around Third and Main. Hurry!"

Botan dropped the connection, and silently floated along, following the form that she presumed was the woman. Botan stifled a gasp when the woman stepped into the light at the end of the alley. It was the very same woman that had helped her escape those two demon-possessed men just days ago. The way she held herself, though, looked more guarded now, wiser somehow.

The woman didn't seem too fond of crowds, because she slipped into a deserted side street at the first possible opportunity. Botan reasoned this was a good thing. This way the woman wouldn't wander too far, and when the boys caught up to her, their confrontation would cause less commotion.

Botan had expected the supersonically fast Hiei to arrive first, and so the fact that he didn't annoyed her to no end. She was positive Hiei was deliberately taking his sweet time in getting here. Botan spotted Yusuke, the first arrival, around a corner the woman had just passed. She hurried to restrain him, telling him in a harsh whisper not to be so rash. After all, he was the one who had scared her away in the first place. It was best to leave this kind of thing to their calmest and most persuasive member: Kurama. And so the two followed the woman silently, keeping tabs on her.

The blue haired reaper thought she saw a black blur out of the corner of her eye that must have been Hiei, but if it was him, he must have caught on to the fact that they weren't confronting her just yet. It was with some relief that Botan watched as Kurama came up behind them. She conveyed that he should be the one to talk to her first, so as not to startle the woman, and Kurama nodded in response. He stretched a hand out in a silent signal for them to go no further, and walked ahead to meet her.

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**AN: Forgive me if you find all the dots annoying. For some reason I can't make a page break, and that was the next best thing. As an aside, I just love writing about the casual interaction of the gang. **

**Please review! Thank you for reading :)**


	6. Reality

Step.

Step.

Step.

I heard easily audible footsteps behind me, following at a calm pace. A frown pulled at the corners of my mouth, and I stopped walking abruptly. Whoever was insistent on following me wasn't even bothering to hide the fact. I turned slowly.

The look of surprise on the man's face must have mirrored my own. Standing before me was the very same redhead that I had met on my first expedition to this odd new dream world that I had consistently visited ever since. My frown deepened, remembering the feeling of warning that had prickled at the back of my mind. I still hadn't forgotten that there was something off about my green-eyed pursuer. This deceptively handsome stranger was dangerous. I knew that for a fact.

He made no move to advance. In fact, he didn't move at all. The man just stood there, hands in his pockets, appraising me.

The silence was growing uncomfortable, so I decided now was as good a time as any to break it. "What do you want?" I demanded with more confidence than I felt.

He ignored the question, instead stating genteelly, "It's nice to see you again. I don't believe we were ever properly introduced. You may call me Kurama, if you wish."

I looked him over for a moment, trying to detect any hidden tricks up his sleeves. "Friday," I stated.

"Beg pardon?" he replied. He must think I'm crazy, since today if it's the same in my world as this dream-world was definitely not Friday.

"My name is Friday," I clarified.

"Ah. Is that so," he responded. A brief yet uncomfortable silence followed.

"Um…" a timid voice interrupted. My gaze snapped to the source, though I remained facing this "Kurama". It was the blue haired bug-lady. She bowed nervously, "Arigato for the other day. It's a pleasure to finally meet you again."

I noticed with some trepidation that three others besides had moved in to form a loose circle. The first I recognized as the guy who chased me in the alley, the second, a tall carrot top I'd never seen before. The last face was also new, and considerably lower to the ground, but his blood-red eyes were strange, as if they did not belong on a human face. All of them made me feel uneasy.

"Hmph," I snorted, unenthused, "If it's all pleasantries and thank yous, then why do you have me cornered like some kind of wild animal?"

"Gomenasai. We did not mean to make you uncomfortable," the smooth-talking redhead answered. He followed that up with something I was certain would be equally polished and not entirely true. I didn't hear him, however. A growing feeling like ice tingling on the back of my mind caused my spine to go stiff and my hair to stand on end.

My head whipped around, sending my hair flying around my face. The nightmare-beast was so close. How had I not noticed its presence before? Without pausing to think I charged toward the source, a tingling point directly beyond the wall behind the bluenette. A scream escaped my lips: I think it was "No!"

I pushed the blue-haired girl perhaps a little too roughly to the ground as the wall burst open and a huge shadowy arm shot through. Its sharp claws ripped at my torso, and I was sent spiraling backward through the air.

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.

.

I tried my best to assuage the purple-maned woman's fears and mistrust. However, she cut me off mid-sentence by bolting in what I could only assume was an attempt to escape through our weakest link. She slammed Botan to the ground in what was sure to leave some nasty scrapes and bruises, shouting loudly as she leapt through the air. We were taken by surprise, but quickly recovered and moved to stop the crazed girl.

It was to my complete astonishment when the wall she was about to make contact with shattered, and a dark shadow shot through, tearing through the girl's clothes and flesh with massive claws. She was hurled backward through the air, tumbling in an uncontrolled spiral. Her eyes were closed tight, her mouth open in a silent scream indicative of a large amount of pain. Mid-air, her form suddenly began shimmering with a blue-white light that seemed to break apart into many particles. When the light vanished, the girl was gone with it. A portal, perhaps? Though stranger than any I had seen. That would explain how she had disappeared without a trace the last time.

There were bigger problems to worry about, however. The shadow that had broken through the wall was only part of a bigger monster. It was much like the one I had met the last time. Shadowed, like a beast straight out of a nightmare.

But was the beast merely a distraction? A tool for her escape? According to the others, these beasts came and went in the same manner, with a similar flash of light.

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I sat up in my bed with a jolt, heart racing, head pounding. This action proved near-fatal, however, as searing lines of pain cut across my torso. I gasped, panting for air as I tried to stand. My legs wobbled, but held my weight as I dragged myself over to the bathroom, clutching desks and chairs for support along the way.

I flipped on the bright overhead light. The mirror reflected my image back at me, white and thin-faced. My pajama top was stained with horizontal lines of blood. I struggled to get the shirt off over my head. What I saw made me gasp. Deep gouges that were sure to leave nasty scars streaked across my front, side, and part of my back as they wrapped around my torso. There were four of them, like claws.

Keep calm. Don't panic. Keep calm.

As I struggled with a roll of bandages and disinfectant, I thought over the implications. I had heard of people injuring themselves in their sleep, and then creating a dream to match. But I couldn't think of any possible way I could do this to myself.

I tried hard to keep myself from hyperventilating as I reached a disturbing conclusion: the dream-world was real.

But how was that possible? I was certain I wasn't really moving around or I'd wake up somewhere else. An alternate dimension, perhaps? A parallel world?

As I thought, a bone-chilling possibility occurred to me. I hadn't noticed the presence of the creature because I had been distracted by my group of unwelcome guests. What if they were in league with the creatures? What if the person I was trying to save when I got this injury was really trying to assist in finishing me off?

And that was when I reached a few even more terrifying conclusions. Ones that made my blood run cold. These nightmare-creatures exist. I've been deliberately putting myself in dangerous situations every night fighting them. And someone's after me. The room began to tilt and spin dangerously. I clutched the counter until my knuckles turned white, trying to keep myself upright.

I never want to go back to that real dream-world. But do I have a choice?

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This situation made no sense. The creatures, the girl, and the strange light that was shared by them both… there were no solid connections. The leads were like wisps of smoke, and we were unable to keep them from turning to anything solid even when we could catch hold of one for a brief moment.

I unwrapped a bandage from my arm and let it fall to the ground, unable to stop the scowl that came over my face as I looked at the wound. The fight yesterday had proven difficult, although it should not have been. The creature we were up against had been unduly hard to subdue. It was only after sustaining many shallow injuries and some severe that we had managed as a team to claim a victory. True, it was larger than its cousin I had fought when I first encountered the strange woman. But perhaps that had not been a fair fight. I had taken the beast for an easy opponent, but had attacked it from behind, when it was fully focused on the girl.

This new creature had provided quite a challenge. A puzzle, to be sure, how these two beasts could be at such different levels. A strange thought cut into my consciousness: maybe these creatures were getting stronger as time passed. To my knowledge, beasts like these had not been spotted for a time past living memory. It could be that I had seen the first, and now as their numbers grew, so did their strength. But that still left the puzzle of the girl. She had appeared suddenly with the first of these, around the same time as the Reikai break in. These things must be connected, but how?

I stepped under the warm stream of water that fell from the showerhead to sooth and cleanse my wounds. The cuts and scratches were already healed, but the gash on my forearm was deeper and had taken some thought to find a suitable remedy to cure and mend the infection that had started to spread from its edges. I must get the herb-based ointment to the others tomorrow night, now that I had confirmed it was effective. The team was scheduled for another meeting in Reikai, and it would be a simple task to get it to everyone then. In addition, I hoped to bring some more solid ideas about these recent disruptive happenings. I racked my brain for answers.

I had already made sure to collect and send a vial of the unknown creature's blood back to analysts at Reikai, who could hopefully shed some light on the subject. Our only real lead left, and the only clue that we could actually communicate with, was the girl. Ah, yes, that woman was a mystery. But she was also our only key to a most challenging puzzle.

I ran tired fingers through my short, red hair, hoping to stimulate my brain cells to higher functioning. There was no time to waste.

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I didn't want to fall asleep, but I was so tired. All last night I had laid awake, trying not to toss and turn and so cause my injuries to reopen once they had finally stopped bleeding. Now deep circles were etched under my eyes.

My family had seemed concerned about my strange behavior, but thankfully said nothing. I excused myself to retire early to my room, though I did not sleep. I leaned up against my headboard, trying not to irritate my wounds through the thick bandaging that I had recently rewrapped. I left all the lights on.

I knew I would have to sleep sometime; it was impossible to never sleep again, but I wanted to delay it as long as I could. I did not want to face the reality of my dreams. I clutched my book tighter, like a lifeline, and read on. Anything to keep awake and my mind otherwise occupied.

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The most important question at this point was whether the girl was friend or foe. There was enough evidence to point to either. The problem was deciphering the motives behind her actions. One thing I had learned in my many years of experience is that one can't rely too heavily on the face value of a situation. All possible angles must be considered before a conclusion is reached and trust is given.

She could be a foe. There were enough similarities between her and the creatures to arouse suspicion. Whenever there was a disturbance, she was sure to be found at the scene with the beasts. She could be using them as a distraction, or a ploy to try and gain the team's trust. Her seeming battles were too easy, compared to what the Reikai Tantei had gone through yesterday as a team of four just to defeat one. Especially for someone who hardly emanated any energy at all. And the woman hadn't stuck around after her supposed injury. It would be a clever way to escape without arousing too much suspicion. After all, that was what she had continually done in the past: vanished without a trace at the first signs of trouble. And she had been unusually reluctant to face me that first day we met, something that did not ordinarily happen with normal human females.

But what if these fights were just that? What if they were not distractions or traps used to trick the Reikai Tantei? She could be an ally. She had assisted Botan, but Botan was not one of the Reikai Tantei. If the woman had been targeting the team, she would not necessarily know Botan was on their side. But why save a civilian even if they were not one of the Reikai Tantei? Was she using Botan to work her way into our trust?

I felt a growing headache coming on. Perhaps I was overanalyzing things. From reports collected by Reikai and the team, she seemed to be harming no one, and she appeared to be fighting the creatures. If we could only get her to have a decent conversation and answer some of our questions… she could be a powerful ally, seeing how she seemed to know something about these strange happenings. And she had an unusual ability to fight the beasts with seeming ease, at least according to what the others had observed.

The best course of action would be to try contacting her again. This woman was more likely to be a friend than a foe.

I felt a strange prickling at my scalp as a subtle, unidentified energy appeared downstairs.

.

**AN: Aaaah! The inner workings of Kurama's convoluted mental processes! :O Hopefully it is easier for you all to understand than it was for me to write...**

**(Dun dun dun... suspense!)**

**Please review! Thank you for reading :)**


	7. Foe

At first I thought I had drifted into nothing, a dreamless sleep. But then I realized there was still muffled noise, the sound of running water somewhere above me. A small amount of dim light crept through the window, and into the room. Damn. Well, I suppose I had to fall asleep sometime. But where was I this time? It looked like a kitchen. I was sure this wouldn't turn out well. I kept my fingers crossed that the family that lived here didn't have any vicious man-eating dogs to hear me, and that there was nothing more sinister around, like a towering creature of shadows with large claws capable of ripping through a person like butter. Just a random example.

I quietly crept through the room on light feet, for once glad I was not wearing shoes, determined to find an escape route. I tried a door, but it only opened onto a well-stocked pantry. My heart beat a little faster, and I gulped as I recognized the food inside as Japanese. Yup. This was the same dream-world, alright. I tried another door and entered into a different room, but there were no exits to the outside world. It seemed I was disoriented in this unfamiliar place in the middle of the night, and I had somehow gone deeper into the house. I was about to turn around, but something on a shelf caught my eye.

This must be the family room, with its comfy couches, coffee table, and neatly organized shelves. I crept closer to the shelf that had grabbed my attention. It was filled with a row of pictures; they looked chronologically ordered. The colors were murky in the dark, although I found that my night vision was much better than it should be in terms of shape and value.

The first picture was a woman and a man, a newly married couple looking very happy together. That was the last picture featuring the man, although the woman was present in all of them. She appeared very pretty and kindly, with smiling eyes and black hair that hung past her shoulders. In the later pictures, she began to show some signs of age, although she wore it well.

The second picture featured the woman and an infant. I did a double take and looked closer at the boy. Though he was young, his eyes were intelligent, and held a certain amount of belligerence. Something about that child made my skin crawl, though there was nothing in the picture itself to make a normal person react that way.

The next picture down the row, the boy was older. He looked like he did not want to be in the picture with this woman, his eyes still held a cold contempt. He did not look much like the woman, now that his child's features were filling out. His hair was lighter than hers, as well as his eyes, by many shades, though I could not make out their colors in the dark.

A sudden change came over the boy between this picture and the next. Where before his eyes showed separation, they now seemed to look upon his mother with care and a love that was visible without words or actions. He smiled as she held her arm around him.

And that was the way the pictures went across the little row lined up on the shelf. His unwavering love and kind smile remained as he and his mother grew slowly older together. His young features were slowly replaced by more mature ones, and a strange feeling of recognition began creeping at the back of my skull.

There were a few pictures that were rather amusing. I was certain he was a boy, but his hair grew long and flowing about his shoulders. I cracked a grin.

But as my eyes fell on the last picture, the smile died on my lips and my eyes widened in shock. My heart began to race. I recognized that man, his hair now short, his eyes calm and collected, a strong arm around his smiling mother. I gulped, my throat suddenly dry.

I didn't need my eyes to see the color of his hair, or of his eyes. I knew them well enough by now. His hair was red. His eyes were a deep green. And as for me, I was in trouble. I needed to get out of here fast.

My ears strained to catch the slightest sound, but all was quiet. It struck me as being too quiet, as I crept along through the room, looking over my shoulder and into the shadowed corners. That was when I realized the sound of running water had vanished. I wished with all my might that the late night shower-taker had simply gone to bed, and that the redhead was not at home.

What looked like the front door caught my eye through an opening in the wall. I can't recall ever being so happy to see a door before, but there it was. With relief, I stepped forward hurriedly through the entryway. My heart shuddered and jerked to a stop.

He was already there waiting for me.

He looked at me coldly, calculating. His short hair was still dripping, water clinging to skin and well-developed, intimidating muscles. The man's arms were crossed over his chest, and a towel wrapped around his waist. In my adrenaline-fueled state, I took in every scrape and scar, and my eyes couldn't miss the long gash that marred his strong forearm. It looked new; he had probably picked it up from that nightmare beast.

It had not been my fault that I ended up here, but I could not stop the guilty expression that crossed my face.

His eyes turned hard as steel. His arms uncrossed and fell to hang dangerously by his sides, curled hands ready for a fight.

I lunged for the door, but he was faster. He blocked the exit, and quicker than I could comprehend had his vice-like grip around my wrist. He pinned me to the wall with the back of his arm across my shoulders, holding me up so our eyes were level. I could not escape his cold gaze. I felt the wounds on my back begin to seep blood once more as they reopened from their not-so-gentle contact with the plaster. Thankfully, he had not forcibly slammed me into the wall… although it was clear he intended to use force to keep me pinned there.

He began to speak in a harsh whisper, and I suddenly understood the reason for his strange restraint. We were not alone in this house, and he wished to keep anyone else from waking.

"What is your purpose here?" he asked, and the deadly look in his eyes made me tongue-tied and mute.

"Explain yourself," he demanded, and his arm pinned me tighter to the wall, making me gasp. I was afraid to move, afraid to further open the wounds that wrapped around my torso.

"You _will_ speak," he stated, eyes burning with a quiet fury, hard and unreasoning.

Sure this couldn't end well, and not at all curious to see the finale, I screwed my eyes shut tight and shouted at my mind to wake up. Finally, for once in my life, I managed to force myself awake. With the knowledge that this was more than just a dream, I had finally gained some control. I made a quick escape back to the world of the waking.

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_Foe._

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Dale jumped and scooted his chair further down the table from me as I slammed down into my seat, grabbing the mug of tea in front of me. I dashed a sugar cube into its murky depths, and stirred vigorously, sloshing tea over the sides. Eyebrows knit together angrily, I chugged the scalding brew, too infuriated to care that it burned as it made its way down my throat.

"Good… morning?" Kaiya said timidly.

I grunted, snatching up a piece of toast and the jar of jam. I viciously popped the tight lid off the jam jar, and dumped a glob of it on my toast. Reaching for the knife to spread my jam, I was stopped by Dale.

"Uh-uh," he said, "We don't want any accidents over breakfast."

Scowling at him, I instead smashed the two sides of the toast together, spreading the jam for me as it created a sandwich. I took great pleasure in the ripping sound that followed as my teeth cut through the bread. I imagined that the raspberry jam was a certain redhead's insides spilling out onto my plate.

The nerve of that jerk. My whole back still hurt from that little adventure. And who the _hell_ does he think he is, anyway? I didn't ask to wake up in his house. I'm the victim here. And after I even saved his friend. Twice! The nerve.

How _dare_ he treat me like some sort of enemy. He's the bad guy. He's the one who's violent and dangerous. What did I ever do to him, anyway? If I ever see him again, he's dead meat. I'm going back to that ridiculous dream-world just to give him a piece of my mind. See how he likes to be the one injured. Through the ripping and gnashing as I demolished my breakfast, I began to chuckle maniacally. My siblings cast nervous glances my way.

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I tossed and turned in my bed, unable to sleep... still. All last night I had been kept awake, fuming over the actions of that damned woman. What was she doing here, endangering my mother? That was a despicable maneuver, even for an enemy, to drag family into the fight. Had she been here for my mother: to harm her or hold her hostage? Probably trying to frame one of those monsters that always seemed to follow her, again. These thoughts continued to swirl through my head as they had all night, until nothing coherent was left; there was only rage.

Reason had departed from me upon finding her here in my home, and it seemed it was not returning any time soon. I turned over and slammed my fist into the pillow, trying to make it a more comfortable shape while simultaneously taking out my anger on something non-sentient. Damned woman. So she was an enemy, after all. My jaw clenched tightly as I tried to control the more destructive impulse of my fury.

Finally, I had the chance to live a life of peace and quiet, like any normal human would have done and she comes along and ruins it all. Everything that I worked for, gone. All of my decisions and careful efforts to conceal my whereabouts meant nothing. Back to being the dog of spirit world. Back to endangering my mother. To _her_ endangering my mother. I was livid. For a moment my eyes saw only red. That damned woman was the cause of it all.

I must inform the others of this threat immediately. They must not be deceived.

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.

"Are you sure, Kurama? I thought we could definitely make her an ally. She's already saved me twice, after all," Botan replied uncertainly.

I repressed a sigh. The madness that had consumed me earlier had departed, but I could still feel where it had rubbed me raw. I had worried they would not believe me, mistaking her trickery for acts of kindness. They were too trusting of her intentions, but I knew better.

"I intercepted the woman just last night, where she had somehow gained access to my home. I believe it was her intention to harm my mother, perhaps use her as a hostage. Those we care for are not safe. We must keep a close eye on them, and locate her as soon as possible," I replied, trying to convince them to see reason.

"That is very interesting, Kurama. We will have to keep that possibility in mind," Koenma slowly agreed, "However, we must remember that we need this woman to talk to us. She is our only source of information so far. We may still be able to make her an ally, whatever her former intentions."

"But the woman is too dangerous," I protested. Why could they not see reason? "She can appear and disappear at will. Even a cell will mean nothing to her. We must find a way to shut down her powers and restrain her."

Koenma sighed, "It's true this woman is a wild card. But until we meet her again, we should not waste time theorizing. Let's get to the point. I called you here to discuss what we _do_ know."

I ground my teeth together, but said no more. If they would not understand her true intentions, I at least had to prepare them as well as I could for any surprises.

"Koenma, one moment please. I discovered this combination of herbs can stop the spread of infection caused by the beasts. Those of us with deeper wounds should use it now, before the infection spreads too far," I informed them, bringing out the tub of ointment I had prepared for our meeting tonight. I passed it around, and those with more severe injuries applied it while Koenma continued to speak.

"Very good, Kurama. You've done well, as usual. That vial of blood you collected was especially helpful to our analysts. In fact, they believe they have discovered the identity of the creatures," Koenma stated and paused for dramatic effect.

"Long ago, there were beasts much like these, called Nightmares," Koenma continued.

Yusuke snorted, "Nightmares? How cheesy can you get?"

A red-faced Koenma snapped at his spirit detective, "Shut it, Yusuke! I'm trying to explain something very important. There's a reason why they're given this name, but we don't have time to go into the whole long history."

"Alright, alright. Jeez," Yusuke grumbled and settled down.

"Anyway, there was an ancient feud that lasted for millennia between the Nightmares and a group of humans with special abilities to defeat them. These humans were called Sleepers. Because of these Sleepers, the Nightmares have not caused problems in a long time," Koenma informed the team.

My eyes widened. I had heard of these Sleepers long ago. Why hadn't I realized it before? Things were all starting to come together now. My mouth pressed together into a tight line.

"So why are these Nightmare-things showing up now and causing trouble in Ningenkai?" Kuwabara asked, "And how come we've never heard of any Sleepers?"

Koenma sighed, "Glad you asked, Kuwabara. When Genkai was young we used to see them, now and again. But no one has seen any for over 50 years, and there have been no Nightmares spotted for far longer. Reikai believed the Sleepers extinct. It was thought that without the Nightmares, there was no longer a need for them. However, they had continued on for a while without their natural opponents, so it was strange that so many could vanish in such a short time. We now begin to suspect that it was no accident the Sleepers disappeared. But what happened remains a mystery."

"And… what do we do now that there are no more of these Sleeper-people? Can't we just fight these Nightmares without them? There's really no reason why we need some so-called Sleepers to fight for us. We've fought plenty of demons before," Yusuke reasoned boldly.

"No, Yusuke. These Nightmares are not demons," Koenma said and stood.

"Huh? What do you mean they're not demons?" Kuwabara asked with surprise.

Koenma began to pace, "Nightmares and Sleepers both operate on a different wavelength of energy than any others. The different types of energy… demon energy, human energy, and spirit energy, they operate on different wavelengths, but they are similar enough that if your energy is great in any one, you can fight the others. However, you are not as efficient as, say, someone with spirit energy fighting someone else with spirit energy. There is no type of energy with a wavelength similar to the one Nightmares and Sleepers use; any attempts to fight with the energy available to us is possible, yet highly inefficient.

"We must find a Sleeper," Koenma concluded.

"I believe we already have," I cut in. Their eyes turned to fix on me with varying looks of surprise. They began questioning what I meant, but I held up my hand to cut them off.

"Many centuries ago, when I was still King of Thieves in the Makai, I heard of these human Sleepers. I was particularly interested in their ability to come and go at will, regardless of any… hindrances. You see, it was a very useful talent to have, for a thief. I was determined to find a Sleeper that I could add to my band of thieves.

"I searched for many years, but eventually discovered that none had ever been able to cross to the Makai. Very rarely, a Sleeper had the ability to transport him or herself to Reikai. But to take a human from the Ningenkai or even the rare Sleeper who got across to Reikai would get me tangled in the affairs of Reikai. They would not tolerate a demon, such as myself, getting their hands on a human for whatever purpose. So I was forced to abandon my pursuit," I concluded and waited to see if they had questions.

"That's very informative," Koenma mused, "I had not known Sleepers had ever crossed to Reikai."

"Shouldn't Reikai keep a record of these things?" I asked, surprised.

"Hmm… Well, we should. Likely there was a record. But we are beginning to suspect that at least one of the things stolen in the recent attack on Reikai was the classified file of Sleepers. You see, each human's file is marked with an invisible seal of the Sleepers. If their powers awaken, the seal becomes visible, and their file is immediately added to the file of the Sleepers, past and present. It could be a very dangerous tool if it got into enemy hands," Koenma replied.

"Err… do the Nightmares even know how to read?" Kuwabara asked.

Koenma gave a short laugh, "No, Kuwabara. Let me clarify. The Nightmares are not the most dangerous of our enemies, but they make up the vast majority. There are legends that tell of those that command the Nightmares to do their bidding. Although, it has been even longer since one of them has been seen than the Nightmares. I'm afraid that may be what we are up against. This could be a coordinated effort against Ningenkai, and Reikai as well."

"Hold on a minute!" Botan interrupted, "Koenma, sir, are you saying that Friday could be one of their commanders?"

"Hmm… I suppose anything is possible," Koenma stated.

"I do not believe that woman is one of their commanders," I said.

Botan smiled brightly at me. "So you think she is an ally, after all, Kurama?" she asked hopefully.

"No," I said, and watched as her smile fell. "I mentioned earlier that we had already found a Sleeper," I reminded them, "From what I know of studying them, this woman is almost certainly a Sleeper, though I admit it has been so long I did not recognize it at first."

"Hang on. If she's a Sleeper, shouldn't she be on our side?" Yusuke protested.

"Her actions suggest otherwise. Isn't it suspicious that years after the Sleepers are thought to have been extinct, one turns up. And that same time, Reikai is infiltrated, and the classified file of Sleepers stolen? Koenma, you have not been able to locate this girl's file, have you?" I asked, though I knew the answer.

"No, we haven't," the small ruler replied, fidgeting rather embarrassedly.

"Wherever she's from, someone is trying to hide this reawakening of the Sleepers. Someone is trying very hard to hide her existence. Why should her enemy go to that trouble? There is no reasonable answer… unless she has allied herself with them," I concluded, and waited for their responses.

"Slow down, Kurama. Who says that she's even from this world? It's still possible that if she doesn't have a file, she simply isn't from somewhere under Reikai's jurisdiction. It might even be that one of our oni with rocks for brains has misplaced her file," Koenma responded, "She may not even be a Sleeper, since all of them are long gone. Or she may simply have originated from somewhere else. Another dimension we don't keep a record of, perhaps. There are many possible answers to this problem, and we cannot be hasty in eliminating all the rest."

"Other… dimension?" Kuwabara asked, stunned.

"It's complicated, but there are known to be some, though they rarely interact with this one. Did you think that all dimensions were those empty voids you can cut through with your dimension sword?" Koenma responded.

"I dunno, I think Kurama may be onto something," Yusuke said reluctantly, "His theory makes a lot more sense."

"She _has_ always been exceedingly wary of us. If she was looking to ally herself with Reikai, she should have been willing to at least have a conversation with us by now. We have engaged her many times. And although she has, perhaps inadvertently, protected Botan, there are many other motives that could explain this. The fact remains that she has always been found at the site of a Nightmare, and recently begun to appear in homes of the Reikai Tantei. This is likely a move to infiltrate Reikai," I further fleshed out my point, "The Nightmare we fought was probably nothing more than a diversion for her escape. It is even possible that she has feigned injury to cause us to look with less suspicion on her disappearance. Her only real priorities seem to be avoiding injury and escaping safely, if we look at her past actions."

Yusuke nodded his agreement, and some of the others looked like they were beginning to be convinced.

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**AN: Why oh why does this site make my chapters look so scrawny? :'( They're a good 7 pages each, give or take a page. They look a heck of a lot better on my word processor. And please forgive the knowledge dump; there's just so much new information to cover. **

**Side note: I love writing about Friday's family. They're just so fun.**

**And let's just assume there were no family pictures taken in the hospital... (Also a fun scene to write :D I never thought I'd like short-haired Kurama so much...)**

**Please review! Thank you for reading :)**


	8. Motives

**AN: Longest chapter yet! A big THANK YOU to Kel-chan100 for being the first to review. (This is sad, people. I _know_ more than one of you is reading this story. I would love a few more reviews. Hint hint. They help me write faster ;] ) But as it is, Kel-chan100 gets a cookie (pick your favorite) and a response: _Glad you like the story thus far and yes, he is quite overprotective, isn't he? As for whether or not Friday lives in the YYH-verse... that will remain a mystery. Muahahahaha :]_**

_**...**_

"_**M**y black eye casts no shadow. Your red eye sees no pain. Your slaps don't stick Your kicks don't hit. So we remain the same. Blood sticks, sweat drips. Break the lock if it don't fit.**" - Florence and the Machine**_

_**...**_

"Still, if this lady is actually a Sleeper, shouldn't we try to get her on our side?" the voice faded in as colors suddenly filled the dark void. I blinked, finding myself in an office. I recognized these people as the ones who had cornered me earlier. My brain registered that it was the carrot-top who had been speaking. Then I realized it was me he was talking about. I stayed quiet and listened.

The short, dangerous-looking man cloaked in black glanced briefly at me with crimson eyes, then looked away. Apparently, he decided I wasn't much of a threat, because he said nothing to the others, despite having recognized me.

A toddler I hadn't seen sighed, and began to speak, surprising me, "That would be ideal, however, as Kurama has pointed out, we don't know where her loyalties lie. We know almost nothing about her, and she could just as easily be siding with these Nightmares—using them as a diversion to keep us occupied—as she could be fighting them. It's a complicated situation that presents us with no easy solution. Our next step should be to find a way to determine her motives."

"You could always just ask her yourselves," the short man with crimson eyes spoke up for the first time. His arms were crossed behind his head and he wore a smug smile on his face. I narrowed my eyes at him in a glare.

"And how, exactly, do you propose we do that, Hiei?" my nemesis asked. I transferred my glare to the back of his red head. "We have already tried to contact her, but she will not speak with us," he continued.

I was about to be revealed anyway, so I spoke up. "Tell me why, exactly, I should speak with you," I said icily, and had the pleasure of watching their heads snap around so fast I thought their necks would break in two.

"Uh… guys. I think she's one of those Sleepers that can get into Reikai," the carrot top said.

"No shit, Kuwabara," gel boy replied as if the boy, Kuwabara, had just said the dumbest thing in the world. I had no idea what they were talking about, so it only served to annoy me all the more.

"Hello, I'm right here. Manners, manners," I said and tapped my foot.

"Manners?" my nemesis hissed, rising, "You're the one who has been eavesdropping, breaking into my home, and using Botan as a mere diversion for your escape." The redhead gestured to the blue-haired lady as he read me a list of my supposed crimes. This pissed me off greatly.

"_Excuse me_, it's not like I wanted to be here. And I was trying to get _out_ of your home after I inexplicably ended up there. You have no right to say you know my motives. I _saved_ your friend. Deliberately! Twice, in fact. You should be thanking me," I snapped back.

He stalked forward, coming dangerously close. I could almost see the reason floating away as it left both our heads.

"Since I can't determine your motives, tell me, what exactly were you doing in my home? You won't get away without explaining yourself this time," Kurama said, eyes glinting dangerously.

"I already told you, you moron. I was trying to get _out _of your house. It's not like I wanted to be there. Do you have rocks for ears?" I asked. Now, I don't normally result to name-calling and base insults, but this idiot gets under my skin and drives me up the wall.

"Liar," he hissed, his face inches from mine.

I ground my teeth, "Zip it, pretty boy. You look like you think you know it all, but you don't know anything about the situations I've been in lately. It's not like I can control where I end up."

"You're a Sleeper. You've been fighting Nightmares left and right. Of course you have control over your abilities," he retorted.

"Hey, I think I've done pretty well with all this, considering it just suddenly started happening about a week ago. Heck, until a couple of _days_ ago I thought this was nothing more than a dream," I growled out. Why couldn't he see how inconvenient this had all been for me?

"Uh, Kurama," the gel boy interrupted, "I think your theory may have been wrong."

"Yusuke, don't listen to her. That's exactly what she wants you to believe. This is just like all her other diversions. Can't you see she's always causing trouble, then running away? Remember what she did to Botan! You saw this woman attack her with your own eyes. She doesn't have any scruples about using and betraying us all," Kurama claimed, making my blood boil.

I heard something inside me snap. Why bother going to the trouble of saving all these people, of fighting every night and sacrificing my body to do it, if people are idiotically questioning my motives and blaming me when I do good? "That does it!" I shouted. My hand snapped out to slap him good and hard right across that pretty face of his.

Again, he was faster than me, and he caught my hand before it could reach him. Equally abandoned to reason, he reached into his hair, pulling out a seed that was quickly transformed as he yelled, "Rose whip!" A long whip complete with deadly rose thorns snapped out to wrap its coils around me, tightening with all the strength of a python.

Botan screeched, "What are you doing, Kurama? This is entirely unreasonable. Stop this before someone gets seriously hurt!"

"Kurama! She's a human. The rules still apply. You are under no circumstances allowed to kill a human!" the toddler shouted, then muttered, "I've been telling that to Hiei for years, but I never thought I'd have to remind Kurama."

Hmph. These people seemed to have no confidence in my ability to fight back and keep myself alive.

My arms were trapped, pinned against my sides. The moron began to speak again, challenging me: "For someone who supposedly goes around fighting these Nightmares night after night, you are too easily restrained. It would seem it was a trap after all; just a clever ploy to make us believe you were on our side. How can someone with so little strength really single-handedly bring down the creatures that gave us so much trouble? You must be working together. Tell me, what deal you have made with them?"

I could feel the anger burning through my eyes, turning them unrelenting and wild. But like a cornered beast, I was out of options. I did the only thing I was currently capable of, and it gave me great pleasure to know it was degrading to that pretty-boy face of his. I took aim and spit.

He looked surprised. I was surprised that with that sour attitude of his, people weren't spitting in his face all the time. His shock worked to my advantage as the coils of the whip went slightly slack, just enough to rip an arm out from under their coils. And I mean literally rip. The thorns left behind painful slashes that trailed vertically down my arm, but at least my arm was free. His brief moment of stunned immobility over, he reacted most violently.

Looking back, perhaps spitting on his face was not the wisest course of action. He seemed to take offense to it, and proceeded in letting me know with a sharp jerk that painfully constricted the rose whip. Its thorns bit into the deep gashes in my already wounded torso. I could feel the injuries bleeding profusely now, blood soaking through my shirt, but it was not visible through the tight coils of the whip. No one had to know I was injured, and I refused to let _him_ know I was in pain. So I ground my teeth together and returned his fierce glare with one of my own.

I focused all my will on remaining standing as I shoved my free hand under the tight binding of the whip, trying to loosen it and keep it from ripping my wounds open further. A feral growl tore through my throat as I felt my last reserves of energy beginning to kick in. Somehow, my hand tore the whip away, and it began to unravel.

Kurama was having none of that, though. Within a split second of its loosening, the whip wound back around, tighter than ever. This battle was hopeless as long as the whip remained in his hand.

The deadly cold look of his eyes hit me straight in the face, sending shivers up my spine. I could feel my pupils dilate as adrenaline pulsed through my veins, making my heartbeat pound in my ears. I heard a vague clamor, like the others were shouting something, but I could not hear them past the deafening beat of my pulse. Suddenly, I knew how the nightmare creature met its end. And just as suddenly I knew my end was coming.

The others couldn't help me now. He was unreasoning, unrelenting. I was the only one capable of saving myself. I could always just wake up. I had done it once before when he had cornered me. But I refused to go so easily this time. My adrenaline and anger kept me where I was. I was going to finish this.

The whip slowly coiled tighter. I allowed my body to give in and dropped to a knee on the floor. My hair worked to my advantage, draping over my torso and hiding my actions. My survival instinct kicked in, and I plunged my free hand under the whip once more, into a pool of blood collecting between the sharp edge of the whip and my open wounds.

I snapped my arm out toward him, letting the dark liquid fly off the end of my hand. The blood splashed across Kurama's eyes, breaking his concentration and the death sentence he had placed on me. Temporarily blinded, he stumbled back a step to put some distance between us. A growl tore violently from his throat. Though I had no doubt he was an experienced fighter, the moment he had let anger take the place of reason, all his experience was worth nothing. He wiped his bloodied eyes with the back of his free arm, and for a moment stopped concentrating on the whip in his other hand.

I could feel the line go slack. With a feral yell, I freed my trapped arm from its green prison, not caring when the thorns performed one last act of vengeance. The coils of the whip loosened and began to fall away. One good tug should pull the whip out of his hand and keep it from ensnaring me once more. I was going to end this ridiculous fight, once and for all.

My last burst of energy from my power reserves surprised me, the violent noise generated from my throat even more so. In the strange awareness of the adrenaline-fueled, I heard something from our small audience about glowing eyes. It was time this bastard got what was coming to him.

Seemingly from out of nowhere, a dark grey canine appeared, breaking my concentration. My anger vanished into stunned immobility as I watched the large dog leap on Kurama's arm, knocking the rose whip out of his hand. Kurama did not put up much of a fight, as it seemed that he, too, was surprised by this outside interference.

The whip fell to the floor in loose coils, resembling nothing more sinister than a garden hose. Kurama now disarmed, his friends moved in to keep him contained while they tried to talk some sense into him.

The dog looked at me with silver eyes, one marred by a long scar, and I recognized him as the mutt I had saved the other day. He was no longer injured, and appeared to be in good health. But what was he doing here, of all places? And why was he saving me? I was beginning to get the feeling this was no ordinary dog.

Well, whatever was up with the mutt, I was getting out of here. And these crazy people had better not try to involve me in whatever issues they were having. I strained to make my legs work, to push me up from where I was crouched with one knee on the floor. Now that the rush of adrenaline was gone, it was just so hard to make my body do anything. I put a hand on the wall, using it for support as I pulled myself up. It was no use. The searing pain of my injuries lashed out at me once more, leaving me stunned and breathless, and I couldn't stop the grunt that escaped me as I dropped back down to a knee. My hand trailed down the wall, reluctant to let go of the height I had previously purchased, leaving a bloody streak in its wake.

The woman named Botan gasped, apparently surprised that I was bleeding so badly, as she rushed over to me. She had a first aid kit with her that I didn't remember seeing before.

The chaos in the room began to settle down as the voices of the others finally got through to Kurama. He dismissed his rose whip and it returned to its form as a tiny seed. His eyes raked violently over my face and I knew he was still seething. My throat felt inexplicably dry all of a sudden, and I swallowed to clear the feeling.

I realized that Botan had been talking to me. She repeated her statement, insisting that I remove my shirt so she could check my wounds and bandage them. I tried to dissuade her, but she said she wanted to repay me for saving her earlier. I gave in, settling down to a comfortable seated position on the floor, and obliged this woman's request, or tried to.

Unfortunately, I found I could not lift my arms above my head. It opened the gashes on my torso too far. Sighing, I took hold of the neck of my shirt with my teeth and ripped it in two with my less injured arm. Great. I liked that shirt. But I supposed it was ruined anyway. The tattered remains of the garment fell to the floor.

The noise in the room was abruptly cut off. The silence made me uneasy. Botan began unraveling the shreds of my old, blood soaked bandages with trembling fingers. The others just stood where they were and stared.

"What?" I demanded. They shifted their eyes to look away. None would meet my gaze. Kurama moved to sit with his back toward me on the other side of the small office. After that, the others seemed to regain some mobility. They arranged themselves between the two of us, wary that another fight would break out.

The old bandages were gone, collected in a bloody heap on the floor. I didn't want to look at my torso, but I couldn't stop myself. The four gashes from the claws of the beast were deep and swollen, seeping blood from their openings as they cut all the way around my torso. An unhealthy infection spread from their edges. Just looking at it made me feel somewhat nauseous. Deep red lines of broken and chafed tissue from where the whip had caught my intact skin burned into my vision. Most were shallow, but they were compiled with tears and holes where rose thorns had bitten deep into my flesh. I even had injuries on my injuries. Puncture wounds from the thorns stacked on top of my deeper gashes, ripping openings that allowed blood to leak through. It was disgusting. But I have to admit, it made me look pretty hardcore.

Botan finally spoke in a voice barely more than a whisper, "You did this… for me?"

"Heh. Don't beat yourself up over it. It wasn't all for you, you know. In fact, none of the new wounds are any fault of yours, so don't worry yourself over them," I replied nonchalantly, trying to convince myself I didn't feel the pain. I barely noticed the cuts in my arm because of the pain that seemed to rip me in half, which, I reminded myself, it almost did. Twice, though at different hands… err… claws. Or whatever.

"This looks awful," Botan continued, as she dabbed at the wounds with a wet towel, trying to clean the blood off.

"A brilliant deduction," I replied sarcastically. I didn't mean to be rude to Botan—she was helping me, after all—but I couldn't help it. The pain was making my brain fuzzy.

She worked methodically around my front and back, then washed the blood off my arms. She tightly wrapped a temporary bandage around my torso to try to stop the bleeding, then returned to fixing my arms. The antiseptic burned as she wiped my arms down with it, and she apologized profusely the whole time. I lied and told her it didn't hurt. At least it took my mind off the other pains, anyway.

She brought out various odd creams and ointments, which I was sure I'd never seen before. "I can do something about your new injuries, but I'm afraid the old ones are infected. They're going to leave scars," she said sadly. "These are special Reikai treatments. They're much more effective for healing than normal Ningenkai cures. And injuries treated quickly with Reikai cures rarely leave scars."

I had no idea what she was talking about with the whole Reikai and Ningenkai things, so I just tried to smile while I nodded. It seemed I would be left with those huge scars, then. That was unfortunate, because I was sure someday I would have to explain them to someone.

Botan continued to expertly clean and wrap my wounds, while conversation picked up again in the room.

"By the way," the toddler began, "What are you doing here, Hati?" The question was directed at the dog and he seemed to expect an answer. But the mutt said nothing. I wasn't really surprised. Dogs can't talk, after all. The dog, Hati, gazed intently at the toddler and then looked away. He retreated to a corner where he sat solemnly on his haunches. He seemed to be waiting for something.

"So, anyway," the gel-boy addressed me after an uncomfortable silence, "I'm sorry about scaring you earlier. You know, when I chased you in the alley. I was just trying to catch up with you and ask you some questions."

I took this in, and nodded. Maybe I would get some answers out of this. I would stay and answer their questions if that was all it took.

"Well, since you're here anyway, could we ask you some of those questions now?" he got to the point.

I shrugged. I didn't see why not. He took a breath to start, but I held up a hand, cutting him off. "Wait a second," I said, "You know my name, but I don't know most of yours. Isn't it only fair to have some proper introductions first?"

"Uh… sure," he conceded, "I'm Yusuke Urameshi, spirit detective, and this is my team. Kazuma Kuwabara, Hiei Jaganshi, and of course you've met Kurama." He pointed each person out as he named them: "You know Botan, she helps us out on missions, and this here is Koenma, prince of Reikai. He heads our operations. And this here is, uh… heck, I don't have a clue who that dog is or what he's doing here. You'd have to ask Koenma."

Yusuke laughed nervously, "Kurama here is usually a lot more reasonable; I don't know what got into him. You must've really pissed him off somehow, 'cause I've worked with him for years and I've never seen him lash out like that. It was like—"

His tongue had run away with him, but he was soon cut off by my nemesis himself: "Yusuke," he warned in that cold voice of his.

I was still angry, and while it might not have been the smartest thing to do, I wanted to retaliate against that jerk for his recent actions in any way possible. I snorted: "Some gentleman."

Kurama glared back over his shoulder at me, but I refused to be intimidated.

Botan tried to put this conflict to rest: "Now, now. Let's all calm down. I'm sure the two of you will get along just fine once you work out this whole misunderstanding. Friday-san, you wouldn't know this, of course, but Kurama is very protective of his mother. It seems you inadvertently triggered his wrath when you appeared in his house, and he thought you were a threat. He can be quite unreasonable when it comes to his mother. But he really usually is quite the gentleman. You'll have to forgive him." Kurama had turned his back to us again, and was studiously ignoring this entire speech, though I could still picture his green eyes smoldering.

"I'll think about it," I replied, "_After_ I get an apology from this overprotective gentleman of yours. You'll see I can be quite reasonable."

His head snapped back around, and I could see he had no intention of apologizing before the words were even out of his mouth: "I refuse to apologize for protecting my family. Recall that it was _you_ who was behaving in an untrustworthy manner in the first place. Unless it is an ordinary custom where you're from to infiltrate people's homes in the middle of the night and endanger their families—"

"Endanger?" I screeched back at him, "I haven't laid a hand on your mother. Nor had I any intention of harming her. And between the two of us, who looks to you to be more _endangered_?" I sneered at him, as I held my arms out wide so he could get a good look at exactly what he'd done.

"Your motives have been suspicious from the beginning. Your every action indicated you were a threat, right up until the last. You still have not proven yourself trustworthy," he growled out defensively. Hurt by his words, I retaliated.

"Well, congratulations. You have subdued this deadly threat," I replied sarcastically. I could see the words stung like knives, but didn't care. I couldn't stop myself. "You look like you're used to being praised for your intelligence," I told him, "I'll bet no one has ever told you that you were wrong. It's about time someone let you know you're an idiot."

This really made him furious. He rose from his seat, hands balled into fists by his side as he directed a feral growl at me. His green eyes bored into mine, burning, but I refused to back down. I met his challenge squarely, despite being positioned considerably lower to the ground.

His teammates jumped to restrain him before anything serious happened. Botan tried to assuage my anger at the same time, to prevent me from provoking him again.

"Please, everyone, settle down," Koenma interrupted, "We must look at all the evidence and weigh each side fairly. For now, the most important thing is to get some answers. Are you two done bickering so we can continue?" Kurama turned his back to me again, but I could see he was still fuming. I nodded at the toddler, though a frown weighed down the corners of my mouth.

"Very good, then," he continued, "Friday, I would first like to ask some general information about you, if I may?" When I told him to go ahead, he continued: "We have no record of you in this world. Actually, we're not entirely sure you're even from this world to begin with. It would be helpful to make a temporary file of your information for reference purposes. Your full name, if you will."

"Friday Kuronosuke," I obliged his request.

"Country of origin?" Koenma asked.

"America," I replied, keeping my responses short.

He asked some more questions, and I was surprised by how irrelevant they seemed. My height, weight, the color of my eyes… Finally when I thought that was all there was to the questioning, it shifted tracks.

"Now tell me, Kuronosuke-san, do you know anything about the Sleepers?" Koenma inquired, leaning forward in his large office chair.

"Sleepers?" I responded, confused.

"Hm… I suppose it won't do any good to ask you if you are one, then. It looks like we have to figure that out together. Please describe anything unusual that has happened lately. We would like very much to hear your side of things," he stated calmly.

After considering this, I replied carefully, "If I tell you what I know, will you tell me what you know?"

"Of course. It's only fair. Besides, I'm sure you've realized by now we were hoping to have you as an ally in this fight," he responded.

"I'm not sure everyone shares that sentiment," I grumbled under my breath. I do not know if they heard.

.

**AN: Adding some quotes. I may go back and add some to the other chappies.**

**Just a quick note. Yes, her last name is Kuronosuke. As some of you may have noticed, that's not an American name. Which brings me to my mini-tangent: Sleepers came from Japan, so she has a last name that sounds Japanese (though it isn't a legitimate Japanese surname). It isn't really important, but may factor into explaining why Sleepers, like Friday, can speak Japanese.**

**Also, it may appear that Kurama is out of character. He may, in fact, be a little out of character, but keep in mind that he has _killed_ opponents who threatened his mother before. Being alive, it is understandable that Friday's existence irritates him.**

**Thank you for reading :)**

**Please REVIEW! **


	9. Sleeper

**AN: Aaaaand... this is the chapter that kept me from publishing for two weeks. Darn you, Yama. It took me two tries to even get your dialogue to the point where I would call it acceptable... This is also the first chapter I've written in the past few months that is completely _new_. **

**And yes, the quotes originate from the most random sources, but they all have one thing in common: they relate to the current chapter.**

**Enjoy!**

_**. . .**_

"_**W**hen you come to the edge of all that you know, you must believe one of two things: either there will be ground to stand on, or you will be taught how to fly.**" ** **- O. R. Melling**_

_**. . .**_

So I told them my story, of all the strange things that had been happening in this short period of time. After I'd finished, Koenma made good on his promise and provided a brief, well, briefing. This was followed by a short explanation from the group as to why they were all individually involved in the matter... this "Reikai Tantei" team-during which they conspicuously left out anything having to do with Kurama's personal history, probably for fear of encountering his rose whip themselves.

The mutual knowledge dump over, we shared an awkward silence. Botan finally stood and declared her bandaging finished. I checked out her handiwork. Not bad. Certainly better than what I had managed to do on my own. I leaned back against the wall-gently-and rested my tired muscles.

I looked up to see the other occupants of the room staring at me. "What?" I questioned. For the most part they seemed ready to accept my story, maybe even happy to have a potential ally in this strange fight. For the most part excluded my redheaded nemesis, and as far as I could tell the short, scary guy just didn't care about any of this. For all that he was a part of their team trying to save the world (yada yada yada) he seemed surprisingly hostile.

Shockingly, it was Kurama who answered, the first time he'd spoken since our earlier unpleasant exchange. "Her story is a good one... if it's true."

"C'mon, Kurama. What are we gonna do? We've heard her story. It makes sense. Why not accept her as part of our team for this? We could use all the help we can get," the head of their team, Yusuke, responded.

"There is always a way to test if her story is true," Kurama stated simply. The effect was immediate; a tense silence covered the room.

"That's absurd!" Botan protested, hands on hips, "We didn't do that for anyone else who's joined the team! Not to mention there have been plenty of _real_ enemies who have turned and sided with us. You can't do that to this poor girl now, right Lord Koenma?"

The toddler sat with his chin on his hand, pondering: "Hmm... Well, while it may not be her fault, it _is_ an easy way to clear the suspicion surrounding this case. We can't have any more... group division."

"So you're just going to let them? But that's not _fair_, Lord Koenma!" Botan once again spoke up.

"Would somebody please tell me what's going on?" I cut in, annoyed.

"It's very simple, really," Kurama addressed me, "Hiei can look into your mind and verify your story. If you are indeed telling the truth, you shouldn't mind."

"Woah. Hold on. You're telling me that guy's a mind reader?" I grimaced and muttered, "Talk about creepy."

"Do you not trust the veracity of your alibi?" my nemesis questioned and I knew he was backing me into a corner so I had to agree to the invasion of the privacy of my own mind. But... I guess there wasn't really much there I would be embarrassed to expose. And somehow I doubted this Hiei was one to go around blabbing other people's secrets... or caring about them in the slightest. In fact, if I tried to tell him my secrets, he would probably ignore me completely; suddenly I was relieved he was the one with the mind-reading powers. I was sure he wouldn't use them to look into _my_ mind except on direct orders from this Reikai place I'd found myself in.

"Go ahead then, if that's what you want. I don't have anything to hide," I declared, crossing my arms and resigning myself to the inevitable.

"If you wouldn't mind, then, Hiei," Koenma requested.

A very bored-looking Hiei grunted and walked toward me. He pulled off a bandana from around his forehead, exposing a third, very purple, eye. I was vaguely aware that I was gaping, but couldn't stop myself. Looking into his eye I felt an unusual sensation, as if I was being pulled into it. The eye began to glow...

Suddenly, the room started to shake, and his concentration was broken. I felt myself dropping back into my own body. The others exclaimed in surprise, but I just sat there numbly, still adjusting to the strange experience I'd almost had. Unexpectedly, the walls and ceiling in front of me parted, revealing a room beyond so vast it seemed to stretch on forever. A tall chair sat square in the middle; after a moment of looking, my brain recognized it as some kind of throne. Huge legs like tree trunks stretched up into the shadows of the high ceiling above. A statue?

"King Yama," I heard Botan gasp quietly at my side.

"F-father. What-ahem-what are you doing here?" the young Koenma asked nervously.

"I have felt the presence of a Sleeper here in Reikai. Bring her forth!" Yama boomed in a powerful voice that made the objects on Koenma's desk rattle.

"This is her, King Yama, sir. Kuronosuke Friday," Botan bowed deeply, gesturing to me. I blinked, but remained slumped against the wall.

"I am Yama," the not-statue announced in a stern voice, "Ruler of Reikai and sovereign over Ningenkai. It is my will that you join a force to combat the threat of this coming invasion. You may not refuse this order, for I am as a God over your world. Come, human, and submit to me! Pledge your allegiance to my cause." My head spun. What was he talking about? A God? Hang on a second. He clearly wasn't omniscient, as he needed Botan to point out who I was. And he definitely wasn't omnipotent, or he wouldn't be needing a half-beat girl who didn't have a clue what was going on to fight his battles for him. Who the heck did he think he was, claiming the title of God for himself? Besides, all this commanding was getting on my nerves.

I couldn't stop the coming outburst that ripped like a torrent from my lungs. "Who do you think you are, that you can order me around? You are neither all-knowing, nor all-powerful, and I wouldn't care if you were king of the universe! You're no ruler of mine," I retorted, anger steeling my nerves and driving me on, past the small voice in the back of my head that told me what I was doing wasn't wise.

"You are right, fragile human. I am neither all-knowing, nor all-powerful, but I have more power than you could ever hope for. If you know what's good for you, you will not refuse!" Yama's voice shook the room violently, until I thought the very foundations would split in two. Strangely, his display of power only pushed me forward, goading me on. Heck, if he was so damn powerful, let him do it himself! I refused to be ordered about by this stranger.

"I am not afraid!" I declared in a loud voice, struggling to my feet and standing to face him with all boldness. A few tremors escaped my weakened frame, but they were not from fear. My hands clenched into fists at my side. Finding his eyes in the shadows, I stared into them, unwavering, channeling my will through my own glaring orbs. I would not back down.

A shaking, booming noise rocked the room, nearly knocking me off my feet. It was with some shock that I realized he was laughing. Everyone occupying the room simply stared and gaped, mouths wide and disbelieving. I got the feeling it was a sound not heard in a time past recollection.

"You are brave. It is a good quality for a leader," Yama finally spoke, and though his voice still boomed, there was an unexpected edge of mirth to it.

"Leader?" I responded warily. My hands unfurled automatically in surprise.

Yama's voice rumbled: "Perhaps I did not explain myself well the first time, little human. It is tradition for Sleepers from the Ningenkai to ally themselves with Reikai to protect against our common enemy: the Nightmares and those who command them. It is an ancient battle, one which began at a time beyond even the remembrance of my own self. I have recently received information that suggests the problem is much greater than my son, Koenma, and his team have as of yet realized.

"But perhaps Hati would tell it best... Hati!" The call boomed out, and Koenma flung himself forward to catch the objects dangerously close to falling from his desk. Yama's gaze fell on Hati expectantly.

The dark grey dog rose and stepped forward. Then he opened his mouth and began to speak: "Long ago, there were gods who dwelt upon the earth-"

"Holy crap! Did that dog just speak?" Yusuke's loud outburst interrupted Hati's tale.

"I'm not a _dog_. I'm a wolf," he sniffed, "And of course I spoke. Now if you will close your gaping mouth, we can return to the story," Hati retorted with a stern look in his silver eyes.

Yusuke's jaw snapped shut. My head was still spinning; fortunately I was not the only one surprised. I stared at the dog-I mean wolf-numbly as he continued his lesson:

"Long ago, there were gods who dwelt upon the earth. They inhabited the Ningenkai freely, and the humans who were native to these lands knew and worshipped them. The gods looked kindly on their subjects, and would bless them with great favors.

"One goddess was particularly fond of the humans. But she saw their toil and suffering, and sought to bestow upon them a great good that would be their reward for the hardship of their daily lives. The world was much different then, with massive wars tearing up the land; the people needed such a gift.

"After many long months of thought, the goddess decided on her gift. She blessed the people with rich and beautiful dreams. Before she brought dreams to the world, people slept in darkness each night, with nothing to brace them between one day and the next. At this time, there were only good dreams, however, and the people came to like these dreams even more than reality, and so many began to dream even while awake. Some forgot about their ordinary lives, and over time many slowly ceased their worship of the other gods altogether.

"Many of the gods were troubled, but none so much as the siblings Amaterasu- the sun goddess-and her brother Tsuki-Yomi, the moon god. They developed an undying grudge against the dream goddess, and soon set about destroying her gift to the world. They shattered the dreams of the living with monsters created to enter their dreams and bring about nightmares. It wasn't long until the people stopped their daydreaming, some even becoming too afraid of the Nightmares to want to dream at all. Many repressed their dreams, forgetting them upon waking. Sadly, the dream goddess watched as many deserted her. But the few who remained were loyal to the end.

"Eventually, the dream goddess realized with deep sadness that her dreams had perhaps not been as great a blessing as she had hoped, having unforeseen effects across the years that brought strife and ignited a powerful conflict. She agreed to retreat back to the realm of the immortals, the original land of the gods. However, as a final parting gift she bestowed upon her loyal followers the power to "dream" in reality. Officially, she claimed it was merely a gift to them, the closest she could give to longevity. Secretly, it was a way to protect her followers from the siblings, for she feared for their safety when she could no longer watch over them in the Ningenkai. The dream goddess hoped never to leave them defenseless against such unrelenting powers that hungered for vengeance.

"For a while, everything was peaceful; though Nightmares still plagued the dreams of the people, Amaterasu and Tsuki-Yomi had lost much of their interest in ordinary humans. The ancient spirit beings known as gods and goddesses to the human world eventually disappeared, retreating while the people forgot about them as time passed. But the siblings' fight to destroy the followers of the dream goddess has continued on ever since. It seemed they had succeeded fifty years ago. That is, until one awoke..."

A heavy silence descended on the room as many heads turned to stare at me purposefully. Oh dear. That one was me, wasn't it? The followers of the dream goddess must be the Sleepers. And we were up against vengeful gods. Who I was supposed to lead some kind of battle against. Things were really looking up for me at this point.

"Ah-Aha. So..." I began, "Um, if the Sleepers were supposedly gone fifty years ago, then why me now? And I thought you said the Sleepers were the loyal followers of this dream goddess. I've never even heard of her."

"The Sleepers are her followers, or their descendants. As for why you have awakened here and now..." the wolf shrugged, "I suppose you must have been needed."

"Hang on a second. Who exactly are you? Why are you an expert on all this? You're not human, so you're not a Sleeper, right?" I questioned.

"That is correct. I am neither a human, nor a Sleeper. There are two of us-myself and my brother, Sköll-who served the dream goddess. She left us behind to keep guard over her people," the wolf stated as if it were an ordinary occurrence.

"But if even King Yama here didn't know about this stuff, how can you know firsthand? You must be ancient!" I exclaimed in shock.

"Once again, you are correct," the wolf stated, "My brother and I are not ourselves gods, but as companions of gods, we are immortal."

"Hati and Sköll..." Kurama raised his voice pensively, "I seem to recall a Norse myth about the two."

"What myth?" I spoke up in spite of myself, my curiosity overwhelming my desire to be angry with the redhead.

Apparently he cared more for knowledge than his mistrust toward me, because he replied, "Two wolves. It is said Sköll chases the sun through the sky daily, and his brother Hati chases the moon through the sky each night. At Ragnarök-ah, the rough equivalent of the apocalypse-legend tells that they will succeed in their quests, and the sun and moon will be devoured." He looked to Hati to confirm or deny this myth.

"Do I look like I could wrap my teeth around the moon?" Hati retorted snippily, "That legend was spread by Amaterasu and Tsuki-Yomi, to make my brother and I seem like enemies to the humans. Unfortunately, it is a legend that has persisted."

"Hm. But like all myths it seems there is some truth to it. After all, you are trying to defeat Amaterasu and Tsuki-Yomi, the sun and moon gods respectively," Kurama replied observantly, voice calm.

Hati ignored this last reply and turned instead to me, "Unfortunately, it seems you are the last of the Sleepers, though I suppose we are fortunate that there is even one left. We will need you in this fight, Friday. While the rest may handle the lower-level denizens, like the Nightmares, there are many more powerful in their ranks. The commanders are especially hard to defeat because of their different wavelengths of energy. And the more powerful enemies are perhaps beyond the skill of any but a Sleeper or a god."

"Why Sleepers?" I asked.

"Why not Sleepers? Their power was bestowed by a god. It is only logical that Sleepers would share the same wavelength of energy," Hati stated very seriously, "You have great power, but also great responsibility. Now that the enemy has reappeared, the fate of the world depends on you, and you alone. There are no others of your kind." His ancient eyes bore into mine, searching.

"That... can't be. I'm sure there are others. We should be out searching for them. I can't be the only one who awoke so spontaneously. Why would _I_ be chosen? I'm not a leader. I'm not a fighter. I'm... Friday... Just Friday..." I made a desperate attempt for a change of strategy. It was too much responsibility. And for the first time I was truly afraid. Deep in my bones I could feel the weight of leadership, and it crushed me.

"Think hard, Friday," Hati said firmly, though his eyes still locked on mine seemed to soften a little, "Back to when you first decided to fight, and tell me why. What made you come back, night after night, and fight, even thinking that this whole world was nothing more than a dream?"

For a while I couldn't answer. I closed my eyes and thought hard back to that first moment, that first decision. But I couldn't explain it. It was just something... something I knew I had to do. Was this destiny? I bit my lip, eyebrows pulling together as I tried to express it... to find the words. My eyes drifted open to be met once again with Hati's silver ones. "It was just... just this _feeling_. A feeling that told me it was something I was supposed to do. I couldn't _not_ fight," I stumbled over the words.

"So you risked your life for a feeling?" Hati prodded me to keep talking.

"I don't know. I just-" I pushed the heels of my palms against my eye sockets, feeling the roots of my hair against cold fingertips as I stood at the edge of the room. I could feel their eyes on me. Suddenly a spark flared up in the back of my brain. A tiny pinprick of insight, showing me more clearly what I had known all along. "I wanted to protect them, the people. Everyone I could... I wanted to protect them," I confessed, letting my hands fall from my face. My expression was much calmer now as I stared out at everyone.

"Then join us. Protect them," Hati encouraged, "We _need_ you, Friday. We cannot face Tsuki-Yomi and Amaterasu without you."

There it was again. The gods. The _vengeful_ gods. My resolve cracked, close to coming undone. I wavered: "What makes you think I can go up against two vengeful gods... and _win_? This isn't even my world. I... I can't. It's too much responsibility." I hid my eyes behind my bangs, ashamed. I was going to let everyone down. A whole world. But... I had never been good with taking the responsibility for very important things, anyway. And this was such a heavy burden.

Hati's voice was quiet as he spoke, "It is true you have much to learn, but learn you must. Do not think this battle is separate from those you know and love. It will affect everyone connected to you, even those you think you have left behind in coming to this place. Your friends, family, all are in danger... It is a fate that is inescapable, for a Sleeper. You cannot run from who you are." The truth hurt, but I didn't realize how much I needed to hear it until the words had been said. Like there was something inside of me that was just waiting... And suddenly I was not afraid.

"Then I won't run anymore," I told him, looking up to meet his eyes.

There was a click, click, click of toenails as Hati approached. He stopped in front of me, were he sat and placed a paw on my knee. His silver eyes spoke of a promise: "You will not be alone in this fight."

A new feeling of determination flooded my veins, and I knew my destiny had finally caught up with me. And with that one moment, everything changed. The path was set before me; all I had to do was keep running. My eyes answered Hati's with a returning promise: "Let's win this, Hati." I cracked a grin.

He replaced his paw on the floor as he stood. The wolf made a small noise of affirmation, and the corners of his eyes crinkled up in a smile.

"Excellent!" the voice boomed, and most of us jumped, as we had forgotten King Yama's presence, "Now that you have made up your mind, all that's required is for you to sign here. Kavi!" An oni I hadn't noticed answered his summons; he came running from around the back of Yama's throne, and he shoved a paper and pen at me.

I took the paper and scrutinized it closely. "What's this?" I asked.

"A contract, binding you to Reikai, stating that you will fulfill your duties as head Sleeper and lead the forces against our common enemies. Ordinarily, the one appointed to the head position would take charge over a team of Sleepers, but as there are none... you understand. We must organize a new team," Yama said by way of explanation.

I gave the paper a final glance before crumpling it up and tossing it over my shoulder. The oni standing in front of me fainted dead away.

"Sleeper..." Yama warned in a booming voice.

"Relax," I told him, "I'll head your force. But I'll do it because it's my duty, not because of some stupid piece of paper."

"How can we trust you will not desert when the battle becomes too much of a challenge? Yama demanded to know.

"I've already accepted my fate" I told him, "You have my word."

For the second time that day, Yama chuckled, "Very well, little Sleeper. Koenma, arrange a team for the coming battle." His voice faded away, sounding tired, as the walls and ceiling closed once more.

We were left in what looked to be an ordinary office, and I could hardly believe everything that had just happened was real. I realized belatedly that the excitement of it all had completely taken my mind off my injuries; now that I concentrated I could still feel the deep throbbing. Either there was enough adrenaline in my system now to ignore it, or Botan's creams and ointments had started taking effect.

Koenma finally spoke, breaking the silence: "Well, as for a team, there is little need to question who best to send. We don't have any other Sleepers, unfortunately, but the people you see gathered here, Friday, are some of the best in the worlds. The Reikai Tantei will henceforth be put back together until the end of this case." He stamped an official-looking document with a red seal, simply impressing on paper what had already been decided much earlier by those involved.

I nodded and bowed slightly, careful of my healing wounds. "Let's do our best to get this over with, shall we?" I proposed.

"Let's get one thing straight," Hiei addressed me in a chilling tone of voice, "You may be the leader on paper, but we all have years of experience beyond yours. We won't be taking orders from you."

I ignored his glare completely, not the least bit offended and still riding on that high that only comes with discovering one's destiny: "I get it. I'm assuming you still need me to fry the big fish. But other than that, I'm not much for leading, anyway. Think of me more as a coordinator. You can bring whatever information you find to me; I'll sort it out."

"Hn," he replied, "As long as we're clear, woman."

"Crystal," I stated, crossing my arms.

A thought occurred to me, "Koenma?" I asked and waited for his go-ahead, "While we're at this, is there a reason why we shouldn't be looking for other Sleepers?"

Koenma sighed and rubbed his temples, "It would appear as if the fight is just beginning. Now is the time to concentrate all our energy on our opponents, while they are still building their strength. Perhaps we can claim an early victory if we focus on this alone.

"There is simply not enough time to continue the search. We have found one Sleeper. We must now place our hope in you. _All_ our hopes," Koenma stressed the last bit as he made eye contact with Kurama. The redhead promptly looked away, a frown tugging down the corners of his mouth as he faced the wall. I refrained from sighing.

"I understand," I told Koenma. Being new to this world and the supernatural in general, I supposed I should trust his judgement. For now.

"It's been a long night. You can all return home now," Koenma dismissed the others, opening what looked like a portal in the middle of the room. They shuffled out, mostly looking tired. I watched my nemesis as he left. He didn't so much as glance at me.

"Well, I guess I'll call it a night too, sir!" Botan said in a bubbly way and bounced out the door.

I realized the end of the meeting had come at a good moment. It was that time again. I could feel the pull of my body telling me it was time to go. I turned to leave, saying a brief "See ya around" to Koenma.

"Friday," Hati stopped me, "I believe I have an answer to your earlier question: why you were chosen. A Sleeper's power is dependent on their will. Yours is one of the strongest I have seen... Do not forget it."

I could feel myself beginning to fade. "Then I bet I'm going to kick ass," I replied half-jokingly, grinning as I pounded a fist into my other hand. I laughed; it was hard to remember ever feeling this good. "Goodnight, Hati," my voice said through the empty space as I vanished completely.

.

**AN: Urk. These chapters keep getting longer (Though it always looks _short_ on this site anyway, I'll have you know this chapter is 10 pages _long_) -.-' And for some reason, neither this nor the last had page breaks. Sorry 'bout that. **

**As I've probably mentioned before, I write for myself. In fact, over the past week I more than doubled my total word count just 'cause I could. However, since I write for myself, I was content to let this story sit on my computer without publishing it for a year. If you're reading this, even a quick note to say so is always, always appreciated. **

**ATTN! I have a deviantart account where I will be posting some pictures of characters, etc... to go with this story. Check it out if you want. I'm theanonymouspen . deviantart . com (no spaces)**

**Thank you for reading :)**

**Please REVIEW! **


	10. Teammates

**AN: Review. Review. Review. That is all...**

_**. . .**_

"**S**ome people see things that are and ask, 'Why?' Some people dream of things that never were and ask, 'Why not?' Some people have to go to work and don't have time for all that.**" - George Carlin**

_**. . .**_

Groggily, I blinked as the bright light shining in through the windows slipped between my eyelids. I groaned. Last night had been so strange. There was still so much to think about, so many things I didn't fully understand. And as I laid there in my ordinary room I felt that I was in over my head.

I tried to moan, but it came out more as a strangled croak, my newly-woken-up condition leaving me sounding like I'd smoked 3 packs of cigarettes a day since I was three. I let my eyelids slide shut, though I had no intention of falling back asleep. A noise that sounded like feet pounding up the stairs battered against my eardrums.

Oh no... Please tell me today isn't-

"It's Friday, I'm in looooooove!" Dale sang as he burst in with far too much energy considering the early hour.

I pulled the covers over my head, refusing to acknowledge him as he continued to sing that all-too-familiar tune. He tugged the comforter down, only succeeding in pulling it just past my eyes, which glared in annoyance up at him and his ridiculous Cheshire grin.

He talked at me with exaggerated cheer, simply because he knew how much I hated mornings. "Wake up! You just got a phone call. Alex is in town; he told me to throw you out the door and have you meet him at the gym in an hour," Dale delivered the message, clearly pleased to have a legitimate reason to kick me out of bed for once.

That's right. I remembered Alex mentioning he might come over at some point during the break. I grunted, but sat up as Dale moved toward the door, remembering to keep my covers wrapped around me. "Oh, and breakfast is on the table, getting cold," Dale informed me as he pulled the door shut behind him.

I stood, swaying a little, and went quickly to lock the door. That done, I made my way to the bathroom and tossed my pajama top on the counter, prepared to survey the damage. Slowly, I unwrapped one of the arm bandages. Nothing. The skin there looked as if it had never been riddled with cuts just a few hours before. Huh. Guess that Reikai medicine really worked wonders. I unwrapped the other and found the same.

For a while, I debated whether to remove my torso wrap. I tested my skin by breathing deeply in and out so see how it felt when it stretched. Carefully, I curled over and straightened up. I twisted slowly, wringing out my spine. Hmm... a little sore, but everything seemed to be in working order. I supposed it was alright. I unwrapped the bandage, letting it fall to the floor. The inside of the bandage was covered in dried blood, but after washing the layer off my skin, I discovered it was healed. I looked in the mirror. Four horizontal stripes marred my otherwise clear skin as they wrapped three quarters of way around my torso. Well, I guess that was normal now. They were still very pink, but I was assuming they would fade over time to plain white scar tissue. Guess I wouldn't have to cancel my "date" with Alex after all.

I shrugged on some workout clothes, brushed my teeth, and quickly scrubbed my face. With a brief glance in the mirror, I gathered my hair up into a high ponytail where it was out of the way and trotted downstairs. Swiping the OJ off the kitchen counter, I chugged it straight down. I grabbed a couple pieces of toast as I ran out the door.

Rain greeted me. I frowned. Somehow, I had forgotten it was raining here. I dashed back inside, shouted to Dale that I was taking the car, grabbed the keys, and got my butt in the driver's seat and out into the road before he could stop me. My old car and I made our way down the familiar streets to my former high school. It was a small school, and they let me borrow the keys to the gym over the holidays, which was where I was headed to now.

I pulled up and spotted Alex waiting for me under the overhang, out of the rain. Stepping out of my car, I made a mad dash through the downpour. He greeted me with a smile and held up a CD. "Ready?" he asked me.

"Are you kidding? I'm _always_ ready," I told him, laughing.

"Hope I didn't surprise you too much. I know I didn't give you a specific date, but I'm gonna be in town for a few days," Alex said casually.

"Then we'd better practice all we can," I replied, "And after this let's go grab something warm to drink." I glared at the offending rain.

He laughed at me: "Hah. I know you. You're gonna want a lot more than just a drink. You always complain that you're starving after a good workout."

"Yeah, yeah, tough guy. Like you don't get hungry," I shot back.

Alex flashed me a smile: "Hey, I never said I had a problem with grabbing a bite." I unlocked the door and we entered the gym together.

I dug out the CD player from a corner of the gym closet. "Too bad we don't have the whole team here," I stated conversationally, "We could get really pro over the holiday. Guess we just have to do our best."

He grunted in affirmation before moving on. "So, which routine are we gonna practice first? It's ladies choice today," he said.

"Mmm. Lets work on track three," I decided.

"Track three?" Alex laughed openly, "But that's the easiest one. You sure you're really Friday?" I ignored his teasing.

"Hey. It's a holiday. We just need to get back in the swing of things. We'll get to the other tracks eventually," I said, stretching my arms. I didn't want to overdo it on my newly-healed muscles. They felt alright now-the stabbing pain had disappeared, replaced by a dull ache-but there was no sense taking chances.

I switched on the CD player and went to stand by his side as we began to dance to the pounding beat.

.

.

.

"Ah. Friday. Glad to see you could make it," the toddler lord said from behind his desk, glancing up briefly in the middle of stamping papers.

I blinked. "Was there something I was supposed to be doing tonight?" I asked.

"Well, I assumed you'd continue chasing down Nightmares. Tonight's patrol is in the city. We were getting very high readings of Nightmare energy. I already sent the team out," he informed me.

"I see. By "team" you mean..." I prompted.

"The Reikai Tantei, of course. Hati is coordinating their effort, and Botan has joined them as well. They haven't been out there long. You should get going," Koenma said, opening a portal distractedly.

"Right," I muttered, and jumped through.

I had thought the portal would be something like my nightly experience of being transported to this dream world. You know, with the darkness, then the sound, and finally colors fading in. I was wrong. If I had to compare it to something, it was like my stomach got caught in a possessed spin cycle, wrenching me around behind it a few miles per hour faster than light speed. And the landing wasn't too swell either.

I sat up, rubbing my cheekbone that had made a loud "crack" on impact with the concrete. There was that nauseating feeling in the pit of my stomach, the kind where you know you aren't actually going to lose your lunch, but wonder if that wouldn't be better. As I pushed myself to my feet, white spots flashed before my eyes. I groaned. Remind me never to do that again. I much preferred my method of transportation.

"You're late," a too-familiar voice greeted my ears. I glared over my shoulder at my nemesis. Or at least, at the flashing white spot where his head should have been. Great. So he had seen my awesome landing.

"Well, I'm here now. What's everyone doing?" I asked, shaking my head to clear the light patches.

It was Hati who answered: "Actually, we just finished dividing into pairs to patrol the area. Come with me, and we'll get started right away."

"Hai, hai. Coming," I replied, starting to feel somewhat normal again.

Our groups split.

Hati spoke into the silence: "Friday. How have you been finding the Nightmares?"

"Erm... Not really sure. Mostly, I just wander around. Sometimes I get a weird tingly feeling, and then I follow that," I answered.

"This... 'weird tingly feeling', is it a solid sensation?" Hati asked, silver eyes glancing up at me.

"Hmm. More like an instinct," I crossed my arms behind my head in a relaxed position as we padded down the empty street.

Hati moved to block my path. I stopped, looking down at him in confusion. "Hati? What's-"

"I want you to focus for me, Friday," Hati told me sternly.

"What are you talking about? I'm very focused," I said.

"Just close your eyes, and see if you can pick up any of that feeling for me," Hati ordered.

"Oh," I said and obliged, but after half a minute of getting nothing but the sound of traffic, my eyes opened. I shook my head: "I'm not getting anything."

Hati sat down, making it clear we weren't going anywhere. "Concentrate," he said.

I sighed, but did as he suggested. There was the sound of cars rushing by on a parallel street. A minute passed. The sounds of traffic slowly seemed to fade away, replaced by the sound of my heartbeat as it relaxed and began to pump less frequently. I breathed deeply, in and out, and in and out. Who knew it was possible to actually hear the blood as it circulated though your body? Time ticked on. I was sure it had been at least five minutes now. Suddenly, I felt warm. That was when I noticed a strange light surrounding my body. Well, it wasn't really a light, more like the _feeling_ of a light. It was hard to put into words.

Curiously, I focused on this light, captivated by the way it felt alive, twisting, flowing, bending... my light suddenly touched another. I jumped a little in surprise, but followed that new light back to its center. _Hati_, I realized. That light was Hati's. It seemed to have stretched out to greet mine, like two curious dogs touching noses.

If I could feel his light, maybe... I tried to open my mind. To listen to things far away. I tried to send my light out in search of another. Something dim and far off brushed against my mind, so gently I wasn't sure I had really felt it. It was like my own light, but not like it at all. That light crept, and reminded me of closets and dark basements. It was the feeble and flickering candle that gave you just enough light to see the shadows as they writhed and fed on the darkness around you.

My brow furrowed, and I opened my eyes. I realized with some surprise that a few beads of sweat had gathered on my brow. Using the back of my hand, I wiped them away. I pointed. "That way," I told Hati, "I'm not sure what it is, but I felt _something_."

"Good," Hati told me, walking off in that direction, "Don't forget to practice that regularly. It is one of your most valuable skills. You must learn to sense the auras of others instinctively, so that you are never taken by surprise." His eyes slid over the shirt that hid my scars, "It would seem you know something about that." I grimaced, and trotted to catch up to him.

It was a fairly uneventful patrol, despite the fact that Hati worked me like a slave driver. He was insistent that I sense the Nightmares each time before we went looking for them. He claimed it saved time in the long run, rather than wandering aimlessly about, but it still felt like it took forever just to find each aura. Especially if the Nightmare was far away. Plus, I was pretty sure he could sense them better than me.

In a little over an hour, Hati and I headed back to our designated meeting place. Yusuke and Kuwabara were already there, and bickering over who took out the last nightmare they had found. With a start, I realized they were each surrounded with a light of their own. The brief flash was gone as I lost focus, and the two of them stood there looking ordinary once more.

"Nuh-uh, Urameshi! You got the first one, and I got the last two!" Kuwabara

"Yeah, right, Kuwabaka! It's obvious that the last one was mine!" Yusuke retorted.

They argued like this for a while, and neither Hati or I bothered to stop them. Hiei and Kurama arrived right as Botan swooped down from the sky on her oar. It seemed like it was time to switch again, so I interrupted the two boys' verbal fight: "Uh... guys?"

They turned as if noticing for the first time that others were present. "How many did you take out?" Yusuke demanded. He had apparently given up on resolving the numbers with Kuwabara, who was still insisting he had beat one more despite currently being trapped in one of Yusuke's headlocks.

I blinked for a moment, then decided to give them the honest answer. "Five," I told them. For a minute neither of them responded.

"Hah. You were beat by a girl, Urameshi," Kuwabara said. Yusuke tightened his grip, nearly popping Kuwabara's head off.

"Shut it! She got more than you, too. And I still beat you, Kuwabara!" Yusuke shouted down at his friend.

"Alright! Fine, fine. Just get _off_!" Kuwabara struggled, finally falling to the floor with an "oof" as Yusuke released him.

Kuwabara rubbed his neck as Yusuke turned to Hati and asked, "What about you?"

"None," Hati replied flatly.

"Hah. There, Kuwabara. That should make you feel better. Still got more than wolf-boy over there," Yusuke jerked a thumb at Hati.

"Friday needed the practice," Hati said, "Besides, Sleepers are designed to fight Nightmares. Why should I battle them when I have a Sleeper with me?"

Yusuke blinked, then grinned, "Good point," he cracked his knuckles, "In that case, Friday and I are going now." Yusuke grabbed my arm, and tried to pull me along behind him, but I dug my heels into the pavement and didn't move. That Urameshi. Trying to get out of the work.

"Wait!" Kuwabara said, taking hold of my other arm, "I'm going with Friday next! You don't know how to treat a lady, Urameshi."

"Let go, Kuwabara! You're in the way," Yusuke said, tugging harder.

"Enough," Hati's voice rang out, and there was an undertone of a bark to it, "Friday will be going with Botan."

"But I thought I was supposed to be patrolling from above and notifying the others when I found something," Botan said in confusion, obviously wondering if she was supposed to fight now.

"So you were, but I have some matters to tend to, and this way you should have even pairs. I will be taking my leave, now," Hati said, glancing over his shoulder at us as he went. His silver eye was piercing, the scar stern.

"Alright," I said, shaking both boys off my arms, "Let's go, Botan."

"Wait. What are we supposed to do?" Kuwabara asked, turning to me. I blinked. Was I supposed to coordinate this now?

"Uh. Just switch with those two," I said, jerking my head at Kurama and Hiei.

"Yusuke and I will take the next round," Kurama said, stepping forward.

Hiei glared at his friend. "Why do I have to go with the oaf?" he asked.

"Hey!" Kuwabara protested the insult.

"We will all have to switch eventually, Hiei," Kurama placated him. I watched as they parted ways and turned to Botan.

She was now hovering on her oar, and for some reason she was smiling and patting a place beside her.

"What?" I asked, disbelieving.

"Oh, just get on, silly. We'll look for Nightmares from the air," Botan told me in a chipper tone. I grumbled a bit, but took my seat on the wood bar. "Now hold on tight!" she gave me the warning as she shot off into the air. I gripped the oar until my fingers turned white and bit back a scream.

"There. See, it's not so bad from up here," She said, turning to me with a smile as we hovered high above Tokyo.

I blinked in surprise, "Yeah. You're right. But the getting up here part isn't so pleasant."

"Sorry," she said, smiling sheepishly.

We scanned the city, looking for anything unusual. I used my eyes instead of what I supposed was my sixth sense, figuring it could probably use a break.

"So, umm..." Botan began timidly, "I know this isn't really my business, but are you getting along any better with Kurama?"

I grimaced and frowned. "That boy is a stuck-up jerk. I don't want to get along any better with _him_," I refused to say that name out loud.

She chuckled nervously, "You know, I'm sure you wouldn't think he's so bad once you get to know him. In fact, you're the only person I've ever heard of having trouble with Kurama-well, besides his enemies."

"That's because we _are_ enemies, Botan," I told her.

"Hm. Well, maybe you've put each other into that category, but you're _teammates. _We can't afford to have you killing each other. Besides, there's no need for this tension between you two," Botan tried to reason with me.

"Yeah, well why don't you tell him that? I'm not actually the one who's being violent and rude, you know," I would have crossed my arms if I hadn't been hanging onto the oar still.

Botan sighed. "Friday... I hope you don't mind my prying, but... this really makes me sad to see the two of you like this. I've known Kurama for a few years now, and in that time I've seen him do many things that are noble and kind. Would you... would you mind hearing a few stories? It might help you change your mind." I could tell she was determined to make us understand one another, so I mumbled a "fine." Besides, no one had really mentioned what was up with him when he was present in the meeting. I was, admittedly, curious.

"Hmm... where to begin. Well, I suppose I'll start at the beginning! Well, not the _very_ beginning, of course, because I wasn't there, but the beginning where I met him-" she twittered.

"_Botan_," I interrupted, trying to get her back on track.

"Oh, right. Of course. I heard of Kurama during Yusuke's first big mission as spirit detective. At the time... ah, well, it's a long story. Anyway," she began again, giggling nervously, and I got the feeling she was editing bits out that would tarnish my impression of Kurama, "his mother was in the hospital."

"Kurama's mother?" I asked, somewhat surprised.

"Yes, she was very ill. Kurama realized she wasn't going to last the week, so he used an artifact called the Forlorn Hope-a mirror that would grant any wish the user made on the night of a full moon-to save his mother's life. There's a terrible price for this wish, however, and Kurama knew this. He went to the top of the hospital that night, prepared to give his life, in exchange for his mother's..." Botan went silent.

I gasped, despite myself. "But that's crazy!" I exclaimed, "How could his mother ever be okay with that?"

"She didn't know," Botan said, "Like your own family, those close to many of the Reikai Tantei don't know about the supernatural. There are a few exceptions, but Kurama's mother doesn't know and never has."

"So... what happened?" I asked, mildly disgusted at my own interest as I found myself leaning forward. I couldn't forget this was a story about Kurama.

"Yusuke found him. He told Kurama he wouldn't allow him to sacrifice his life, so that his mother could live just to mourn the death of her only son. This was right after Yusuke's death, so his compassion probably came from seeing his own mother's tears," Botan had a far off look in her eye as she remembered the events from her tale.

I nodded. I had heard about Yusuke's death and subsequent resurrection. "But his mother is still alive, so he must have used the mirror anyway, right?"

"Yes," Botan said, "But Yusuke jumped in himself and told the mirror to take his life instead. I was so scared that day... It's a hard thing, to ferry people you know to Reikai. Anyway, as it turned out, the mirror only took half of each of their life forces, so both lived. But Kurama was fully prepared to calmly give up his own life, without so much as a struggle. For someone who is used to fighting-and winning his battles-that's a truly impressive resolution."

I was silent as I took this all in. Yes, it was impressive. I don't know if I could do that myself, even though I loved my family. I don't think I could ever know, really, until I was faced with that moment where I had to choose.

Botan took my silence as proof that her stories were working and continued, "And it wasn't long after that when Kurama took a sword to the gut for Yusuke, to pay him back for helping save the life of his mother. You don't see many warriors using themselves as human shields," she said in a chipper way, holding up a finger as if to emphasize the point.

"Why wouldn't he just deflect the sword?" I asked. Surely, if he could block it he could deflect it, right?

"Err... Well, it was Hiei's, actually, and Hiei is very fast. His situation is... complicated. You heard yesterday that Hiei joined the Reikai Tantei as part of his probation. He was, erm, sort of trying to create a human slave army," Botan said nervously, and tried to move on.

I blinked. "Wait a second," I questioned, "I thought that Hiei and the redhead were friends?"

Botan sighed, seeming saddened still that I so obviously refused to call him "Kurama", but answered, "Well, they _are_ friends now. It's been a few years, you know, and Hiei has changed a lot. He's actually a very decent person, once you get to know him-if one can ever really get to know Hiei-and he has one of the strongest codes of honor of anyone I've met." She smiled, trying to convince me that all these scary people were diamonds deep down inside. Well, I guess I had to make do with what I was given to work with.

"Oh!" Botan brought her fist down on her palm, remembering something. I vaguely wondered who was flying this oar. She continued recounting stories: "And there was that time during the Dark Tournament-this demon competition the boys were forced to enter-where Kurama's opponent tried to use his mother as leverage. It was horrible! That cheating demon... he'd brought a remote with him that would tell the demon on the other end to devour her! And you know what Kurama did? He stood there and let this demon, who was so much weaker than him it wasn't even funny, beat him without so much as lifting a finger. Of course, it turned out alright in the end. Kurama planted a seed in his opponent's body and managed to kill the nasty demon before the demon killed him... Ehe." Botan cut off her tale, seeming to realize that perhaps tales of Kurama's killings wouldn't make me like him more.

I just looked at her blankly. We shared an awkward silence.

"Ah! There's something!" Botan pointed out what was probably a Nightmare with tangible relief as we zoomed toward the spot, me clinging to the oar for dear life.

All the creatures Botan and I encountered were surprisingly weak. Either that or I was getting stronger.

She didn't say any more about Kurama, but we puzzled together over the reason why the boys were so susceptible to Nightmare attacks, while the Nightmares seemed hardly affected the other way round. She assured me repeatedly that the boys were very strong, in fact, that they were some of the most powerful beings around. It didn't make much sense.

After explaining to me a little the basic workings of normal energy wavelengths, a thought came to me: "You said that people with stronger energy are usually less prone to damage from attacks because they use their energy to fortify their skin. But it doesn't block against energy of the wrong wavelength. So what if Nightmares just naturally have tougher skin. If it's just a matter of the physical alone, then it makes sense that a creature with hard skin would be less susceptible than someone with normal skin. After all, ordinarily I don't seem to get as beat up as the guys, so it's possible that some of my energy is fortifying my skin unless the attack is too much for it to handle. And because my energy is the same wavelength as the Nightmares, it's more damaging when I attack."

"Actually, that _does_ make a lot of sense," she agreed. We continued to hover in the air, lost in thought as we looked down at the city lights.

.

**AN: It's always so much fun to write about the boys' interactions. Heehee. :]**

**I still have a deviantart account where I will be posting some pictures of characters, etc... to go with this story. Check it out if you want. I'm theanonymouspen . deviantart . com (no spaces)**

**Thank you for reading :)**

**Please REVIEW! **


	11. Teamwork

**A huge thank you to _bananamush_ for reviewing! In response to your review: it's true. Kurama is perhaps a little too irrational. But you always read about Kurama the gentleman and Youko the, well, animal. Human Kurama is, after all, "only human." But he'll get over it... eventually.**

**Warning: some grotesque scenes. **

**PLEASE REVIEW!**

_**. . .**_

"_**W**hat the ancients called a clever fighter is one who not only wins, but excels in winning with ease**." ― Sun Tzu, The Art of War**_

_**. . .**_

When we met back up with the others, I went with Yusuke. I sensed something close by, and ran towards the source, urging him to follow me.

"Alright, Friday. Go beat up some Nightmares!" Yusuke called from a ways back.

I turned. He wasn't even coming! I crossed my arms. "Yusuke Urameshi, you get your butt over here," I said.

"Fine," he sighed, and ran to catch up.

Yusuke's blasts were impressive. His spirit gun looked like it could obliterate anything... except the Nightmare. I could see what Botan meant now.

"Yusuke!" I shouted, over the sound of rubble, "You distract it and _I'll_ take it out."

He mock saluted, then began waving his arms and calling out, "Over here! You big, ugly blob. Even roadkill doesn't look as bad as you!" Well, that was one way to do it.

I hid in the shadows, waiting for the right moment before jumping out to deliver a swift kick to the back of the creature's head. It disappeared from the bottom up in a shimmering light.

"You know, that light really _is_ nice to look at," Yusuke conceded, admiring the glow.

"Yeah. It is, isn't it?" I responded, "Shimmery."

"That went a lot better than _my_ first mission," Yusuke said and grimaced, "It definitely didn't go that smoothly. Actually, thinking back on my powers now, I'm surprised I wasn't killed again. My spirit gun could barely hurt a gnat."

I laughed. "I'm sure it was better than you think," I told him.

"Nah. It was pretty bad," he said, "Come to think of it, it started out a little bit like this case, with a Reikai break-in. Three of their really powerful artifacts went missing. I was the only member of the Reikai Tantei at the time, so Koenma sent me out to catch the bad guys.

"Get this, the first one, Gouki, was this huge beast who had stolen an orb... can't remember what it was called... anyway, it sucked peoples' souls out of their bodies and then he _ate _them... He had skin like a rock. Couldn't even dent him with my spirit gun. I had to finally shoot it right into his mouth as he was about to eat me. It was his only soft spot. Ha. But I used so much energy that I was out cold for a while. Luckily, Botan found me before Hiei came to claim the artifact."

"Hiei?" I asked, surprised, "So that was the case he got put on probation for?" The one where he had been trying to make a human slave army... I recalled Botan's tale.

"Yup. That's the one. Obviously, I took care of it," Yusuke said, cockily.

"So there was Hiei and that Gouki... what happened to the other one?" I puzzled over the information.

"Uh... What other one?" Yusuke laughed nervously.

"You said there were three artifacts, right?" I questioned.

"Oh! The artifacts... right. Well, I obviously collected the last one," Yusuke shrugged, making a valiant effort at casualty. I narrowed my eyes suspiciously. What was he hiding?

I continued to pry: "The last artifact wasn't using itself, Yusuke... Come on, spit it out. What is it that you're not saying?"

"Uh... The last artifact was a mirror known as the Forlorn Hope. It was Kurama's..." he saw my nonplussed look and hastened to assure me of the redhead's good intentions, "But don't worry! He wasn't actually going to use it to help Hiei. He had been planning all along to save his mother's life with it. Then he helped me round up Hiei. So he's really not a bad guy, see?"

"Huh," I grunted and said nothing. So... Gouki the soul-eater was part of a team with Kurama and Hiei, the demon who had formerly desired to turn the populations of the earth into a giant human slave-army. So that was what Botan had been hiding... Figures Kurama would be hanging around a soul-sucking monster.

After a minute's silence, Yusuke seemed to come to a realization. "Hey, this can't really be your first time?" Yusuke questioned my fighting ability, peering at me with narrowed eyes as he scratched his head.

"It's not," I said.

"Oh. Well, that makes sense, then," Yusuke responded, at ease.

"Thursday was my first time," I stated casually, crossing my arms behind my head.

He gave a low whistle and seemed to be impressed despite himself. "In that case, I can't wait to see what'll happen in a few years. You might even be able to take me on," he grinned, and I could see the love of a good fight in his eyes. An answering grin of my own spread across my face.

We employed that strategy repeatedly, and it was a good one. It was so much easier to destroy the Nightmare when it wasn't trying to slice at you with those frightening claws it had. And so it was with a satisfied feeling that Yusuke and I headed back to regroup.

Yusuke smiled cockily, no doubt dying to rub it in Kuwabara's face how many Nightmares we'd defeated. "Y'know, we make a good team, Friday," he said, turning the look to me as we came up to the meeting point where the others were already waiting.

I grinned back; our time together had been fun, not to mention productive. "Yeah, you're right," I answered.

We came within earshot of the others. "I bet Kuwabara didn't take out six nightmares!" Yusuke challenged holding out six fingers-no surprise which lone finger he picked on his second hand-as he boasted to his carrot-top friend.

Kuwabara appeared too freaked out by something else to really pay attention. Finally, he announced, "You two have identical smiles. It's creepy."

Yusuke and I glanced at each other, and our grins grew wider.

"Yeah, well, that's 'cause she's like a mini-me," Yusuke draped an arm around my shoulders, apparently having decided that I was a fighting-junkie worthy of himself.

"I sincerely hope not," I replied, stepping away from his arm. He wasn't offended, too busy thumbing his nose at Kuwabara to really hear me.

I sighed and grabbed Kuwabara's arm: "Come on," I told him, "There's lots of work to do, still."

"Aww. C'mon, Friday. You're gonna give up being my partner to go with the _weakest_ member of the team?" Yusuke said, just to annoy Kuwabara, I'm sure.

"Shut it, Urameshi!" Kuwabara yelled back over his shoulder as I dragged him off down a different street.

When Kuwabara first pulled out an energy sword, I had my doubts. Yusuke's spirit gun had appeared much more impressive, and hadn't done much of anything. Naturally, I was surprised when Kuwabara lopped off a Nightmare's arm, right off the bat.

"K-Kuwabara! What _is_ that?" I asked, gaping.

"It's an arm, of course," he replied, looking down at the appendage with mild disgust.

"Not _that_! That sword you're holding," I shouted with wide eyes as the 3-legged Nightmare charged between us. We got out of its way.

"It's my dimension sword!" Kuwabara yelled back, displaying it proudly.

"Did you know it could do that?" I asked, eyeing the sword.

"Err. Actually, I was trying to summon my spirit sword. But this one seems to work better. And it looks more impressive," Kuwabara grinned and gave the sword a few swishes.

I rolled my eyes, but smiled. The Nightmare held a grudge, and it came circling back around, trying to run Kuwabara down from behind. "Kuwabara! Look out!" I called.

He rolled out of the way, but a claw of the Nightmare caught his shoulder. I heard the ripping of what I hoped was just fabric. There was no time to check on Kuwabara as the creature barreled toward me. I jumped into the air above its head and, catching its horns as I sailed past, used them to flip over onto its back. I barely managed to keep my balance. The ride was especially bumpy whenever the Nightmare should have been running on its fourth leg, which was no longer attached to its body.

"Kuwabara! Get ready!" I called, as I clamped my legs around its neck and tried to steer it in his general direction by use of its horns.

"What? Are you crazy! Quit trying to run me over!" Kuwabara screamed as he jumped out of the path of the beast.

"Use the sword and stop running!" I shouted orders, "Aim for the head! Here it comes." Wrenching the Nightmare around, I managed to get it running toward Kuwabara again. This time he looked determined. He crouched into a fighting stance, holding the sword out in front of him. At the last second, I stood and flipped off its back. I wasn't going to trust Kuwabara not to impale me accidentally when I was sitting right behind the Nightmare's head.

With a triumphant yell, Kuwabara brought the beast down.

"Kuwabara!" I called, walking toward him, "Is your shoulder okay?"

"I'm fine. It's just a scratch," he replied. I looked closely and saw that he was telling the truth. The nightmare had just nicked his skin. It had already stopped bleeding.

I came to stand by him and we looked down at the creature together. For some reason, it was a sad sight as it bled dark liquid onto the concrete. I preferred letting the light take them. Was there something fundamentally different about the two methods? Did letting non-Sleepers kill them somehow ruin their death? It felt unclean, but I couldn't explain the reason for it. Not when I was glad this creature was gone.

My eyes searched our surroundings for something to put it out of its misery. I spotted a dull, rusted piece of pipe laying on the ground and picked it up. Taking a deep breath, I heaved it over my head and brought it down in a sharp swing, crushing the Nightmare's skull. This time a light took the creature. It put me at ease to see it; one glance at Kuwabara and I knew he had been feeling the same. We shared that brief moment and turned as one, going off to search for the next opponent.

We chatted a bit as we walked. A thought was swirling around in the back of my head. Finally, it materialized into something I could express: "Kuwabara," I said, "Do you think that the reason your dimension sword works so well on the Nightmares is because they have dimension powers of their own? Think about it. They're always popping back and forth, and you said your sword cuts through dimensions. What if the reason they're so resistant to normal attacks is because they're actually partly in a different dimension. That would explain a lot... But I dunno. It's just a thought."

Kuwabara scratched his nose as he thought about it. "I don't know much about these Nightmares, but that _would_ explain why my sword works and the others' attacks don't. Huh. You could be right."

I grinned, "I could, couldn't I?" If it turned out I was right, I would be very proud of myself. "Then again, I could just as easily be wrong," I remembered, and frowned slightly.

"Well, no use worrying 'bout it," Kuwabara told me, "We know my sword works, so let's go find some more of those Nightmare creatures."

I chuckled at his enthusiasm. His goal was probably to beat Yusuke's numbers by the end of the night. Well, whatever makes you work. The two of us kept walking. I let my senses take a break, relying on Kuwabara's keen sixth sense to sniff them out.

We were headed back to the rendezvous point when something occurred to Kuwabara. "Hey, Friday," he said, "I just thought of something. There's only two people left that you haven't teamed up with, right?"

"Yeah..." I prompted.

"And, uh, I figured you'd want to go with Hiei next," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. Observant. "You should know that he's a bit abrasive. So if he says anything insulting, it's not you. He's like that with everyone."

"I noticed. He seems to particularly enjoy fighting with you," I commented.

"Yeah. Things started out that way, and I guess they never really changed. Mostly now we just do it out of habit. I don't think he means everything he says. He's really a good guy, somewhere deep down... even if he pretends he doesn't know it," Kuwabara shoved his hands deep in his pockets as he furrowed his brow in thought.

"I see... Thanks for the head's up," I said, thinking about the small fire apparition.

When we got back, Kuwabara was eager to share his newfound prowess. "Hey, Yusuke," he called, "She gave up being your partner to go with the _strongest_ member of the team!" So he hadn't forgotten Yusuke's earlier jab. He then proceeded to boast about his dimension sword's powers to everyone, though mostly to Yusuke with the occasional remark at Hiei.

I was surprised to hear that Kuwabara was considered the strongest fully-human fighter in the Ningenkai. Hiei countered, saying it didn't mean much to be the strongest human when humans were so pathetically weak to begin with, but no one denied it, so I guess it was true. And as far as I could tell, Kuwabara was right: his power really was the most useful one out of the group when it came to fighting Nightmares. At least, as far as I had seen.

In the middle of their arguing, Hiei suddenly turned and started walking away. I had a brief moment of panic where I thought I'd have to pair up with Kurama instead. "Hiei!" I called after him anxiously, "Where are you going?"

He turned and looked at me with his chilly neutral stare. "I assumed you were coming with me, woman," he said and continued walking. I jogged to catch up, faintly blushing. So he realized too. I wondered briefly if he'd read my mind, and quickly decided he hadn't need to. It wasn't exactly a secret that Kurama and I didn't get along, but somehow they made me feel bad that it was so obvious. Why should I feel bad? He's the one being unreasonable in the first place.

We passed by a dark street that looked like it would be prime Nightmare territory.

"Um... Hiei?" I questioned tentatively, "Shouldn't we check out that area?"

"The fox and I already eradicated the ones hiding there," he replied.

"Hati's a wolf," I said, feeling that I should say something, since Hati had seemed so adamant about his wolf-status. Then I wondered why Hiei had mentioned Hati at all. "Have you run into Hati lately?" I questioned, brow furrowed.

"I was talking about Kurama," Hiei stated flatly. He was still walking with a purpose, so I just followed him. He seemed to know where he was going.

"He's... a fox? I'm confused," I admitted. Pet names definitely did _not_ sound like Hiei's thing.

"Surely you didn't think he was _human_," Hiei managed to put a dirty inflection on the word, like it was a dead rat or something equally unpleasant, "Kurama is a spirit fox."

I'll admit that for a moment I was floored. "But..." How could that be? "I thought he was human. And his mother, is she...?"

"Human," Hiei snapped, starting to sound agitated at all the questions. I figured I'd better be quick.

"So is he only half spirit fox?" I asked, curiosity taking over. I remembered Botan saying that Kurama's mother didn't know anything about the supernatural happenings that her son was caught up in. Maybe it was his father, then. That wasn't too far-fetched, right? I didn't know much about spirit foxes, but it seemed like a half-fox was the only plausible option at this point.

Hiei just sighed, I assumed over my human ignorance. He was done talking to me, at any rate.

We were walking though a maze of incredibly tall buildings, the likes of which wouldn't be found in my modest-sized hometown, when Hiei's head snapped up. Then, in front of my eyes, he vanished. Or at least he seemed to. When I looked up to where he had been staring a moment before, I saw him shooting through the air at least twenty floors up. I gasped in spite of myself.

That was when I noticed the Nightmare hanging in a recess of the building. Hiei came level with it. I couldn't follow his movements, but one moment his hands were empty and the next he was holding a sword-one I hadn't even known he'd been carrying beneath his cloak-in a position that suggested the end of an attack. A few shallow cuts and scratches appeared on the Nightmare's thick skin.

He dropped, unconcerned over the hard concrete below, and landed next to me effortlessly. His face was set in a frown. He made a small, unhappy noise. Apparently, he had been expecting more damage. This one looked like it had tougher-not to mention lumpier-skin than the others.

He tried it again. I looked for a way up, but it was too high for me to jump. One more time he leapt. A few more scratches appeared on the beast, but there was little more Hiei could do, despite the fact that his sword looked sharp and incredibly deadly. The Nightmare had found a convenient stronghold in the side of the wall and wasn't fazed.

When he landed, I stopped him. "You're fast, but your attacks aren't working on this one. I can take care of it, but it's too high up..." I took a deep breath and prepared to make my proposal, "Give me a boost, will ya?" I rubbed the side of my nose in discomfort as he fixed an incredulous stare on me.

"What are you thinking, woman?" Hiei demanded, displeased with the idea.

"For heaven's sake, just do it!" I told him, my voice raising as I fidgeted under his gaze.

"Fine," he stated flatly, but he might as well have said, "It's a terrible idea, but it's yours so don't blame me if you fail, or lose a limb, or smack your head on the pavement (again)." At least, that was what his tone of voice suggested. It was about the same when it came to Hiei's vocabulary.

I couldn't help the small "eep" that escaped me as he instantaneously grabbed hold of the back of my shirt collar and threw me in a straight line at the monster. Somehow, it wasn't what I had envisioned happening when I proposed he throw me. And I was moving a lot faster than I was sure was safe.

I had one chance to hit the Nightmare, both to destroy it and to stop my wild and uncontrolled ascent before I collided with the wall. I hated learning on the job.

Somehow I grabbed hold of its nostrils, jerking around in an unplanned flip as my fingers caught hold and ripped up through its eye sockets and over the top of its skull. I felt the wet blood spatter up my arms all the way to my elbows and across my shirt front and I grimaced. Nasty.

The Nightmare was occupying the entire recess in the wall, so I had no choice but to balance on its back until the light began to take it. I dropped roughly onto the edge of the sill through the now-transparent monster as it faded in the glow.

I hadn't been expecting the fall, and immediately I lost my balance and tumbled over the edge. Barely catching hold of the ledge, I realized too late that the blood had made my fingers slick. I was slipping.

Completely losing my grip, I fell through the air as story after story passed by; the rush of wind screamed shrilly in my ears. I reached for anything I could find-ledges, windowsills, awnings-hoping to slow myself down. It worked, sort of. At least I had turned myself around to see where I was going. I landed on protrusions, ledges, and the tops of industrial trucks on my way down, but my momentum forced me to keep alternately running and falling. I spotted a dumpster and realized this was the end of the line: the last thing I could collide with. Opting for the soft inside rather than the hard outside, I tumbled awkwardly over the container wall.

It was with a stomach-churning squish that I finally came to a halt. Fortunately, it was only my back that was actually _in _the refuse; my legs were awkwardly leaning up against the wall, one shoe caught on the rim. I looked up at the sky and was surprised to see stars. It was a beautiful night up there. I would have continued lying there to calm my furiously pounding heart, but the mystery of the dumpster's contents was too much for me and my germophobia, and I immediately made to pull myself out of the smelly container. I hung over the edge and dropped in a much more controlled, even elegant, landing to my feet on the other side. The effect was ruined by the banana peel on my shoulder and the fishbone in my hair, unfortunately.

"Graceful," Hiei commented from somewhere in front of me. I didn't look up.

"Oh, shaddup," I said gruffly, picking a piece of lettuce off my sleeve. I proceeded to shake like a dog, hoping there was some piece of something that would fly off and hit him. No such luck. "It looked like the softer of the two options," I mumbled, not bothering to speak up. I knew he could hear, regardless.

When I finally met his eyes, I saw a strange expression on his face. It was almost as if... as if he was trying to keep from laughing. Huh, laughing. Now that was a strange juxtaposition: the word "laughing" over Hiei. He turned before I could decide if I wasn't just imagining the amused look.

I took stock of my appearance and my soiled hair and shirt. The hair I couldn't do much about, currently, but the shirt I could-it was dirtier, anyway. I tugged it off over my head and tossed it behind me in the offending dumpster. A sports bra was perfectly acceptable attire when getting a workout, and I was dead certain Hiei wouldn't care one way or another. I dusted off my hair and walked toward where Hiei was waiting with his back to me. He began striding away before I even reached him.

"Perhaps you aren't completely useless after all," the words floated back to me as he walked ahead.

Kuwabara's advice came to my mind. Anyone else, it would have been an insult. But it was Hiei, so I just smiled and took it as the best compliment I would ever get from him. I crossed my bloodied arms behind my soiled head as we walked casually down the street, continuing our search.

By the time we had to return for our final shift, the night was almost gone. Truthfully, the whole way back I was dreading this last partnership. Hopefully, Kurama would complain about the blood and the sweat and the faint odor of dumpster-not to mention the odds and ends that more likely than not were still stuck in my hair-and declare that I offended his delicate senses and he wouldn't go anywhere with me. Pretty boy.

The group came in view and I sighed, stifling a yawn. Hiei had worked me hard, but appeared to tolerate me in my moderate usefulness by the end of our shift. Seemed to me I was a hell of a lot more useful than he gave me credit for. Admittedly, part of the reason I was so tired now was because I had tried harder than normal to impress the highly critical, yet clearly powerful fire apparition.

I realized belatedly that I must have looked a sight. When we got back to the group, Kuwabara was the first to open his mouth to make a comment. Naturally, I assumed it would be about the dried blood like gloves up to my elbows or the evidence of my fight with the dumpster. It wasn't. "Uh... What happened to your shirt?" he asked finally.

I crossed my arms, defensively. Somehow, after an hour of walking around without it in the presence of an unaffected Hiei, I had forgotten.

"Hn," Hiei said with a smirk, "She fell into a dumpster."

I peeked at him from under an eyelid as I addressed him directly in a confrontational tone: "Why so chatty all of a sudden, Hiei?"

"You people are always encouraging me to share... I thought for once I'd oblige," Hiei stated casually, ignoring my ill-concealed dismay.

Yusuke tried and utterly failed to stifle a snort. It was followed shortly by uproarious laughter. I frowned around at them. Hiei smirked and chuckled darkly, the kind of sound that let you know he found your discomfort amusing. Even Kuwabara was laughing with tears in his eyes. Traitor. Here I thought he knew how to treat a woman. Kurama had a look on his face that made me want to pummel him; it was condescending, as if he had been confirmed in his suspicions that fighting was too much for me. All because of one stupid dumpster. Botan was the only one who looked appropriately sympathetic.

"In case anyone is wondering, yes, I did get the Nightmare, thank you very much," I told them in a pouty voice. Slowly their laughter ran its course and died down.

"Well, I guess we have to switch now," Kuwabara mused into the silence spattered with Yusuke's sporadic guffaws.

I sighed and resigned myself to leaving with Kurama. We looked at each other, sizing one another up. I gave it a moment. Now was the time for him to comment on how his rose perfume didn't match eau de dumpster.

Seemingly from out of nowhere, Hati came bounding up, startling me out of my energy-efficient position where I was slouching with my arms crossed.

"Oh, good. You're all here," he stated, "It's time to call it a night."

"It's about time," Yusuke grumbled, stretching out his shoulder.

"You're one to talk. You let everyone else do all the work," Kuwabara muttered his direction. Yusuke ignored him.

"But what about the Nightmares?" I asked, despite the fact that I was tired and would be glad for some shut-eye, err... waking world... um... guess that term didn't really apply to me anymore.

Hati fixed ancient silver eyes on me: "Koenma said the signal's dropping. He can't get a reading on their energy anymore. It would appear you've all been working hard." The wolf looked around at our new partnerships, gaze halting on Kurama and I, and commented, "Besides, I don't trust you two not to kill each other." An apt observation.

Instantly, I was filled with relief. It was cut short, however, with Hati's last remark. "Where is your shirt, Friday?" the wolf asked. And so the laughter began again. I didn't answer.

.

**AN: Snicker. Oh, Hiei. You are just too fun to write about... There wasn't much actual Kurama in there, but hot damn, that guy is everywhere as far as Friday is concerned. All the comments so far have been on how Kurama is being unreasonable. I'm surprised no one has mentioned that she's even more unreasonable than he is.**

**I still have a deviantart account where I will be posting some pictures of characters, etc... to go with this story. Check it out if you want. I'm theanonymouspen . deviantart . com (no spaces)**

**Thank you for reading :)**

**Please REVIEW! I will be waiting to post the next chapter until I know at least one person is still reading this...**


	12. Rikyu

**Awwwzzzz... Thanks for the reviews guys. :] I realize I may come across as a bit of a review-shark at times, but the reason why I ask for reviews isn't actually to stroke my ego. It genuinely makes me happy to see that I've been able to entertain people or make them laugh, even if it's only for a little while. Now, to business...**

**Thank you _anon _& _anon _(same anon?) for reviewing. I'm so glad my attempt at humor hasn't fallen flat. Sometimes I worry 'bout that, seeing how I write a lot of this story at night when I am at least mildly sleep-deprived. (Prepare yourself for some weird events coming up, folks. Last night at 3 am, I had some inspiration with yakuza, and after deep consideration have decided they'll actually fit right into the story... Not to give too much away.) And yes, I will try to post more chapters as often as I can.**

**Thank you also to XAudra RoseX for reviewing. Glad you love it, and you don't have to wait for the next chapter anymore.**

**Thanks again to bananamush. My favorite part was Hiei and the dumpster too. Glad I could make you laugh. Friday and Kurama's interactions will develop as the story continues, I promise. **

**And without further ado... I present le next chapter!**

_**. . .**_

"_**I**f quick, I survive. If not quick, I am lost. This is "death**." ― Sun Tzu, The Art of War**_

_**. . .**_

"Hey, Alex?" I asked, still pouting.

"Yeah?" he replied, turning slightly to look at me.

"A sport's bra is perfectly acceptable workout attire, right?" I questioned intently.

He just laughed at me: "Why? You planning on wearing one now?"

"Yeah," I said, "Under my shirt."

"Just to be clear," he replied casually, "I wouldn't mind either way,"

"Right?" I said, and grumbled under my breath, "See? Normal people don't give a damn." I yanked off my shoes and began to stretch.

.

.

.

"What is with all these Nightmares?" Yusuke complained loudly as he delivered a finishing blast to one, "It's like a plague." Somehow, during their fights yesterday, they had developed semi-efficient means of defeating the Nightmares. I was occupied with creatures of my own, so I couldn't really tell what they were doing, but it seemed to involve a lot of teamwork and running. If they had a motto, it might have been: wear it down until it finally keels over and dies. It worked slightly better than their initial strategy of "What the hell is this? Our attacks don't work at all, even though this thing is so weak," but it still didn't match the effectiveness of my same-wavelength energy.

There had been a particularly large number of Nightmares roaming the streets tonight, and their numbers seemed to be increasing as we headed toward a remote part of the town. This night had started out like the last, in pairs, but after the Nightmares-due to their huge increase in number-had gotten the jump on a few of our members, we decided it would be safer to go as one group. Hati hadn't joined us tonight. I wondered vaguely where he was, and if he was even a fighter. So far, he hadn't lifted a finger, so I guess we wouldn't miss him too much.

A voice spoke from overhead. I glanced up as I ran and saw Botan sailing overhead on her oar. She was holding a strange new device that mapped out energy readings and beeped annoyingly. "I'm picking up an unusual new energy signature. It seems to be coming from a few blocks ahead. Just keep running that direction," Botan pointed a finger. I nodded, but didn't respond, putting on an extra burst of speed.

My way was blocked by Nightmares. Damn. Guess we had to defeat them first. The beasts closed in from behind as well, herding us tighter. We put our backs together in a loose circle facing outward at our opponents. The fight began.

I shook purple bangs out of my face as the last of them went down. Botan landed in a clear spot. "Is it just me, or did those Nightmares seem to be getting smarter?" I asked generally, "And what was that weird herding behavior?"

"Good questions," Botan replied, "Unfortunately, I don't think we have time for them just now." The handheld machine began to beep wildly. "This thing is going crazy over that energy reading. It seems to be increasing, and it's close!" she held it up for us to see, though what we were supposed to be looking at, exactly, was unclear.

"Hurry! This way," Botan waved us on, running around the corner into the next street. Almost immediately, there was a scream, followed by a blue blur gripped in the mouth of a large black blur as it raced by the opening in front of us. The screams faded away down the street, but they seemed to be screams of terror rather than pain. Were the Nightmares taking hostages now? Wasn't that kind of advanced?

The boys started to rush after her. "Wait!" I called after them.

"What is it? Can't you see it's getting away?" Yusuke demanded impatiently.

"Kuwabara should go," I said, reasoning with them, "He's the one with the most effective weapon anyway. Use your dimension sword and go after her, Kuwabara."

"You can't expect us just to leave Botan!" Yusuke yelled at me like I was crazy.

"Botan seemed really worried about whatever was up ahead. We owe it to her to go investigate. For all we know, it could be an even bigger problem. It looks like this was all a setup, anyway, and as much as I dislike it, I think we have to play along for now," I told them, crossing my arms. I didn't want to play leader, but as far as I could tell, it was best to continue on.

"Actually, she may be right, Yusuke," Kurama said begrudgingly, placing a restraining hand on his shoulder before he could run off, "Kuwabara should go alone." Did he really just stand up for my idea? Well, that was surprising.

"What are you still doing here, fool?" Hiei directed the question at Kuwabara, who snapped to attention and took off running.

That left the four of us; we ran as a group to what was hopefully the source of this Nightmare invasion. Kurama pulled up next to me and the look he gave me stopped me in my tracks.

"What?" I asked, baffled.

"Don't disappear on us," Kurama advised, eyes laced with mistrust. Yusuke and Hiei traded glances.

"Tch," I huffed and kept running. So he was the same jerk as before. Whoop de do. Big surprise there.

I caught sight of something up ahead, and put on a burst of speed. Hiei ran easily beside me, with the others right behind in the narrow alleyway. As we came to the end of the corridor, something shimmered around us, reflective and bubble-like. Before I could register it, I had passed through. I heard a hollow-sounding crash behind me and turned around. Hiei was sitting at the bottom of some weird, transparent force-field type sphere, rubbing his head and gritting his teeth. Yusuke and Kurama were standing behind him. Kurama stretched out a hand and pushed against the bubble; nothing happened.

"It appears we're trapped here," he told his companions, rather needlessly. None looked pleased. I was about to flip out. I pounded on the barrier with my fists, gritting my teeth in frustration, trying as hard as I could to break it. I yelled something insulting at the force field. Nothing happened. What the hell was I supposed to do now by myself? Especially with them watching over my shoulder. I stepped back from the translucent sphere and resorted to looking around me, scanning the area for whatever had set off Botan's energy-detecting device.

It was a wide, abandoned street, possibly a construction project. The walls were crumbling in places and blocks of concrete were strewn about. And it was dark. Oh, I could see just fine, but everything was kind of boring with so little color.

"Gaah!" Yusuke exclaimed. I whirled around to see the sphere rising off the ground, stopping to hover a few feet in the air.

There was a low chuckling behind me. "Looks like there's only one Sleeper in the whole group. You had him worried, with the way you were picking off his creatures," the voice was conversational, but with a deep edge to it, and surprisingly pleasant to listen to.

I turned to see a man who appeared a little older than me-though, as I'd learned, appearances can be deceiving-with slightly tanned skin, hair a deep, dusky blue, and yellow eyes that nearly seemed to glow. He had four striped markings that stretched across his upper back, their ends peeking around the front of his shoulders and arms. His clothing was rich, but simple. All he wore were white pants that looked billowing and soft as clouds; he didn't even have shoes. The ends of the pant legs tied with a simple cord to fit snugly around his leg. His belt was made of a silver-colored ring with various large, metallic rectangular and spherical beads where a belt buckle should have been. All of the ties on the pants ended in matching beads.

His long hair reached his elbows, but the majority of it was pulled back in a strange ponytail with a silver band at the nape of his neck and another further down his shoulder blades. The ends were left free. Either side of his face was framed by a smaller chunk of hair tied the same way, though slightly shorter. On his head he wore a plain silver band no thicker than a pencil that encircled his head like a crown, disappearing under his navy bangs. On his chest, centered directly under his collarbones, was what appeared to be an unusual pendant of some kind of silver metal, embedded in his skin. It was an oval, with a diamond shape superimposed upon it, and the whole thing was curved out away from his chest. It was only marginally bigger than a walnut.

Oh, and he was floating, hovering a few feet off the ground with ease. The effect was strange, like someone underwater. His hair, too, hovered as if the rules of gravity did not apply. In the darkness that surrounded him, I realized he had his own light that allowed me to see him so clearly.

"Who are you? And who's 'him'?" I demanded to know, voice shaking a little.

"Can't you tell? I'm an angel," he said and paused with a winning smile stretched beneath smoldering eyes, looking like he had just fallen straight from heaven, "Not." He dropped the smile and with a gesture two short blades appeared in either hand.

I took a small, involuntary step backward. He continued to speak in a pleasant tone, this time answering the question: "Rikyu," he identified himself, "And you should know the "him" is Tsuki-Yomi. After all, he's the only "him" you'll ever have to worry about, Sleeper."

He drifted closer, feet still not touching the ground. I didn't move. My mind was one big blank; I couldn't think of a single thing I could do to fight back. "It's a shame I have to kill you now, Sleeper, but orders are orders. You understand." My legs began to tremble ever so slightly as I tried to force myself to run. "Yes, it's quite a shame. And you had such a pretty face, for a mortal," he said, and suddenly closed the distance between us.

He was fast! I gasped and stumbled back as a blade slashed right through where my chest had been not a moment ago. I turned and ran, glancing behind to locate the man called Rikyu. He was hovering right over my shoulder, a smirk on his face that was inches from mine. I nearly leapt out of my skin. Faster! Faster! I pushed myself as hard as I could.

Too late, I noticed I was running into a corner. I turned to face the man now hovering calmly a comfortable distance away. Why wasn't he moving? Slowly, painfully slowly, he started drifting towards me and raised an arm, sword pointing out. I could hear the roar of my heartbeat in my ears, deafening. This man... was nothing like the Nightmares.

Suddenly, I felt like I had been cheating all this time, fighting mindless creatures that dropped like flies under my attacks. But this... this was real strength. I could feel it billowing off him in waves. Oddly, the sensation of power focused into a small point.

He swung the sword down, across his body. A spinning ball of light that glowed a sickly blue followed, and it shot straight toward me. I did the only thing I could think of and took a dive toward it, sliding uncomfortably close beneath the glowing sphere, feeling the wind of its passing on my back. Gravel bit into my forearms, little pieces embedding themselves in my skin as I scraped along.

I hissed, but teetered to my feet and began to run again, breathing ragged as I darted along, feeling the blasts behind me as Rikyu continued to attack. Shock clouded my brain, making it fuzzy. I felt like a rabbit, running and waiting for that moment when my heart would finally give up and explode in terror. Could I really die here?

Either I was slowing down or he was getting faster. All I knew is that the spheres of blue energy cut closer, scraping my body as they passed and I barely avoided a direct hit. I could feel the beads of blood that welled up from the shallow wounds, and the sharp smell clung in my nose. My legs pumped madly, but I could barely feel them. A blast caught me hard on the shoulder and I flew through the air, tumbling down into a pile of rubble beside the barrier sphere as a great cloud of dust rose around me.

After a moment, I managed to push myself up, coughing. I put a hand against the barrier for support as I stood, leaving a dirty, blood-spattered handprint on its surface. Suddenly, fear turned to anger. I refused to run anymore. "That's it! I've had it with eating dirt!" I yelled. This smiling guy was starting to infuriate me.

"You have to time the blasts!" Kurama shouted at me from his very unhelpful position _inside_ the barrier, "Think about your strategy."

I glowered at him. A sudden realization struck me. This fight really wasn't so different from a dance. You just feel the flow and move with your partner, and keep placing one foot in front of the other. I still had a chance at winning. I stared down Rikyu, but addressed Kurama as I felt a new determination flood my body: "You can't think about it," I retorted, "You just have to do it!" And with that I leapt forward, charging toward Rikyu with a speed I hadn't known I possessed.

He countered with a rapid succession of energy blasts, flying off his sword faster than ever. I dodged hit after hit, feeling the spheres more than seeing them.

I barreled toward him, evading the last of the energy blasts, and delivered a hard right cross to his jaw. He scooted backward through the air, and rubbed his face, blinking in surprise.

Then to my astonishment, he began to laugh, words tumbling out shakily to occupy the air between us: "Wonderful... so... wonderful... I haven't had a real fight in fifty years!" He grinned, wild and crazy, and shot toward me. He delivered a flurry of kicks and punches as I tried my best to dodge and reciprocate, relying almost entirely on instinct. He was moving too fast for me to form a coherent thought, anyway. I hit him a couple of times, but it seemed to barely have an effect. Then he hit me. I tumbled backward, leaving a trail of dust.

I wasn't sure I could do enough damage to Rikyu, even if I could hit him. I had to get the boys out of that barrier, but how? A thought struck me.

.

.

.

The girl scampered frantically around, employing no strategy whatsoever as she simply tried to evade the blasts. I crossed my arms and sighed. At this rate, all she would do was tire herself out and accomplish nothing. At least she seemed to heed my warning about not vanishing back to her world and leaving us to fight in her stead.

When a blast finally caught her, it sent her crashing back into the rubble by our containment barrier. Through the dust, she stood, coughing, and leaned against the sphere for support.

"That's it!" she shouted, "I've had it with eating dirt." The panicked look in her eyes had been replaced by one of annoyance. Well, that was some improvement, at least.

"You have to time the blasts!" I called out to her, "Think about your strategy." Hopefully, now she would stop all this pointless dodging and running about. Really, the woman just didn't seem ready for a fight of this caliber.

Her jaw set and a new light flooded her eyes; I was surprised to see her look so determined. "You can't think about it," she said to me, but continued to stare down Rikyu, "You just have to do it!"

She attacked like a different person, as if the one running scared for the first part of this fight had been someone else. It was like this was her true self, bubbling to the surface as she dodged everything Rikyu threw at her with a speed that I hadn't expected. My eyebrows shot up in surprise as she actually managed to make contact with Rikyu's jaw, sending him reeling back.

But she hadn't met someone like Rikyu before. Of that I was sure. And when he spoke to her, eyes wild and thriving off the fight, I doubted she could ever win. Not against a fighter like that. One who enjoyed receiving blows as much as he enjoyed delivering them. To most minds, such a thing was nearly incomprehensible. He shot forward, and they were engaged in a high-speed martial arts brawl-dodging and punching and kicking. The girl's form was sloppy, and her attacks didn't realize their potential even when she managed to land a couple hits. Rikyu just grinned all the wider. Finally, with a solid blow to the girl, he sent her flying back, bouncing and tumbling across the pavement.

She came to a halt, laying facedown on the ground, and her eyes focused on something directly in front of her. Rikyu laughed, but it was cut short as something bounced off his face. He rubbed the spot with a small frown.

"A pebble?" he asked, "Surely, you don't think that's going to be very effective."

"It's a small rock, actually," she responded as she stood, brushing herself off. Then she ran, resorting to throwing small objects at him as she went. I couldn't understand her reasoning, or if this was even an organized plan. This was definitely not what I had meant when I told her to employ a strategy. The "attacks", if they could be called such, certainly weren't doing much to Rikyu, besides annoying him. I suppose the only plus side was that he no longer looked to be enjoying the fight.

Rikyu began to attack with less control, irritation clouding his judgment. Perhaps this could work to her advantage. She darted here and there, never straying too far from us.

A blast scraped the side of the barrier, and Rikyu stopped in mid-strike, hovering over the ground. He began to chuckle: "Very clever, little girl. I see what you're trying to make me do, but it's not going to work. I can just tone down my attacks enough to deal with you, without taking out the barrier." Ah. So she did have a plan. Pity it wasn't a better one.

He shot through the air, relying on his muscles now to do the job. "Oh shit," Friday said, and dove under the barrier. He caught her boot-clad ankle before she got through to the other side. We looked down through the transparent floor and watched as she struggled and twisted, trying to break his grip. He tugged. She tried to get a grip on the barrier, but the outside was smooth and her fingers couldn't stop her from being pulled back toward Rikyu.

The woman's eyes flashed with a bright blue-white light as she snarled, a feral growl ripping from her throat. She lashed out, aiming a solid kick at Rikyu with her free leg. He leaned back, out of its way. But a bright, formless capsule of light shot out from her foot and kept going, catching his hand as he pulled back, losing his grip on her leg. She shot out from under the other side of the barrier and stood, her position defensive.

Rikyu hovered high up, examining his charred arm. He grinned: "Heh. So much _fun_. Maybe I'll keep you, little Sleeper." Meanwhile, Friday paced on the ground like a wild animal, a deadly look in her eyes. He was too far up for her to reach.

Without warning, she jumped, landing on the top of the barrier and pushing off, using it to gain leverage. She grabbed hold of his foot and used her momentum, flipping up around Rikyu to sit on his shoulders. He tried to pull her off, but she wrapped an arm around his throat. They wrestled in the sky until Rikyu finally pried her away and tossed her to the ground. Startlingly, she landed on her feet this time, in a crouch, growling.

"Ah, well. I suppose it's time to finish this," Rikyu said with a tinge of regret, before sending another volley of energy blasts straight at her. Friday dodged as best as she could, but she couldn't avoid them all.

One hit her squarely in the chest, and it sent her reeling back closer to us. She swayed a little and then, one ponderous moment later, fell to her knees, finally collapsing altogether.

"No!" Yusuke screamed harshly, pounding clenched fists against the bubble, "Stand up! We can't lose you now. We can't just stand here and watch you die! FRIDAY! Get up!"

His commands fell on deaf ears. The woman stirred, but didn't get up. She must have barely retained her consciousness or she would have returned to her world.

Rikyu floated down from the sky and touched down to the ground for the first time. As he landed, he dismissed his short blades and strode casually toward her still form, as if he had all the time in the world. Slowly, ominously, he reached out a hand to lift her up by the back of her collar. Her eyes were closed, but her brow furrowed as she struggled to open them.

"It's been fun, my little Sleeper," he said admiringly, a glowing sphere appearing in his palm as it hovered dangerously near her head. The light grew brighter as the ball of energy increased in strength, glowing more intensely than any of the previous attacks. It reached a breaking point, so bright I could barely stand to look directly at it.

.

**AN: Meet Rikyu, one of the commanders. Took me long enough, huh? Only 77 pages. Ehehe. He may be a bad guy, but as one of my original figments, he holds a special place in my heart. My deviantart account will be featuring some pictures of him, if the description didn't quite do it for you.**

**I still have a deviantart account where I will be posting some pictures of characters, etc... to go with this story. Check it out if you want. I'm theanonymouspen . deviantart . com (no spaces) **

**Thank you for reading :)**

**Please REVIEW! (C'mon, people. Friday's life is on the line here. Don't you want to find out what happens? ... Muahaha. Evil cliffhanger will remain until I get some reviews, folks.)**


	13. Dark Rikyu

**So... breaking out of the one-word titles on occasion... apparently. And I find it mildly humorous that this is chapter 13.**

**Ehehe... So, I hadn't originally intended to split up the final scene of the last chapter, but since I did, the first two paragraphs are recap. Enjoy.**

**(And sorry for the succession of Sun Tzu quotes, but _The Art of War_ is just so applicable, and he's a friggin genius.)**

**Thank you once again to all my lovely reviewers! You always brighten my day! Response time:**

**_CRdragonPyro: _It's beyond awesome to hear you think my story is awesome. And I'm glad someone else is happy about the Kurama tension. I just got tired of reading and writing stories about Kurama the perfect gentleman. He's human too... well, sort of. And the part that isn't... is demon! He's _gotta_ have a bad side like the rest of us. He's just better at hiding it. (My theory, anyway).**

**_bananamush:_ Have a cookie, my loyal reviewer :D Glad you enjoyed the fight. I hope I'm getting better at writing fight scenes.**

**_anon_: Yes, I'm evil. And yes, it made you review ;] Glad you're excited to meet a villain, finally.**

**_xAudra Rosex_: This chapter might also end in a cliffhanger. Sorry and please keep reviewing anyway :D Friday'll get her fighting pointers... though I can't say how or who she'll get them from just yet ;]**

_**. . .**_

"_**E**ngage people with what they expect; it is what they are able to discern and confirms their projections. It settles them into predictable patterns of response, occupying their minds while you wait for the extraordinary moment — that which they cannot anticipate**." ― Sun Tzu, The Art of War**_

_**. . .**_

_Rikyu descended from the sky and touched down to the ground for the first time. As he landed, he dismissed his short blades and strode casually toward her still form, as if he had all the time in the world. Slowly, ominously, he reached out a hand to lift her up by the back of her collar. Her eyes were closed, but her brow furrowed as she struggled to open them._

"_It's been fun, my little Sleeper," he said admiringly, a glowing sphere appearing in his palm as it hovered dangerously near her head. The light grew brighter as the ball of energy increased in strength, glowing more intensely than any of the previous attacks. It reached a breaking point, so bright I could barely stand to look directly at it._

Friday's eyes slid open, and her face contorted in a fierce grin. She twisted away, freeing herself from his grip with surprising strength. The woman knocked his arm aside, directing it toward the barrier as the glowing sphere took on a life of its own and separated from its master. It collided with the containment barrier and shattered it in a colossal explosion. The three of us dropped those few feet to the ground. Fortunately, besides the dust that clouded our lungs, we were unharmed in the explosion.

"What?" Rikyu sputtered, incredulous.

"When your direct attack was so weak, I figured you'd use something stronger to finish me off as long as you couldn't accidentally hit the barrier," Friday explained, the cocky grin still stretched across her face. Gutsy. I felt a twinge of respect for the woman.

"You tricked me," he said with an accusatory stare.

"Yes. I did. And it worked, too," she wandered toward him. We loosely circled around behind her, bracing ourselves to attack.

"Ha! This fight just gets better and better!" he roared, throwing his arms up in the air. A crackling portal appeared. When the light died down, shadows shot through the rippling opening, reminiscent of a black hole. More Nightmares surrounded us. Where did they all come from?

Friday ploughed forward, apparently deciding she didn't have time for these creatures as she made a beeline for Rikyu.

With a sigh, we resigned ourselves to fighting more of these mindless beasts.

.

.

.

With a strike that jarred my bones, I was locked again in combat with Rikyu. This close-range sparring seemed to be the best way to beat him, without allowing him to go floating away. The portal remained open, and two Nightmares poured in to take the place of every one the team cut down.

Oddly enough, Rikyu made no move to block my attacks, simply trying to get one in wherever he could. I was sure my strikes were a lot stronger than normal, so he had to at least feel them, but whatever I did he just smiled wider.

Finally, he broke away and jumped back, resuming his position hovering a few feet off the ground. His short blades appeared as he summoned them in his hands once more. He dove in, striking me in the abdomen with the hilt of his blade. I gasped, and went sliding back, down on a knee as I tried to catch my breath. He landed and came toward me, pressing the sharp edge of a blade to my neck.

"Give up, Sleeper, and die!" Rikyu said with eyes that were suddenly cold. He brought the other blade down toward my neck to met its twin. I tumbled backward, making myself as small as possible, just barely avoiding being scalped. The blade sliced overhead as I watched wide-eyed, dangerously close to removing my nose, which would have been unfortunate as I was quite attached to it. I rolled and scrambled to my feet as I faced him again.

I swayed a little, feeling the strain, but addressed Rikyu without fear: "I refuse to lose to you: someone who talks so casually about taking a life!" I felt my eyes flash with a white-hot glow as I rushed at him, feet pounding on the concrete. I raised a fist, prepared to strike, and a bright light gathered around my arm. It made direct contact with Rikyu's bare chest and this time a grimace of pain flashed across his face. He was sent flying back; his blades vanished as they parted from his hands. So I _could_ wound him, just like that time I had kicked out at him beneath the barrier. The only trouble was, I wasn't sure how I was doing it. Where did this light come from?

A charred mark still smoked slightly in the middle of his chest. He gave me a look, sizing me up as he floated there. "Impressive, for a mortal," he said, drifting back toward me, "Perhaps I will take you with me."

His bare hand snapped out to grab my exposed forearm as his other hand clamped down on my free bicep, restraining my movement. But after a moment, I wouldn't have been able to move, anyway. I gasped, involuntarily. His form changed, right before my eyes. Where a being with angelic beauty had been standing before, now there was something straight out of the traditional understanding of the demonic. His skin was black as night, and seemed to stretch too thin over the bones that made up his skeleton. Yellow pits of flame sat in sunken eye sockets, and his hair resembled more a mass of dark blue flame than anything else.

He grinned, and it reminded me of a skeleton's ever-smiling face: "Amazing what a simple touch can do, isn't it?" My mouth popped open in a silent scream, but I couldn't find my voice. "You'll get used to it, soon enough... Now come!" dark Rikyu ordered.

I was terrified, but in my mind's unwillingness to accept the horrifying reality of the creature in front of me, my energies turned instead to fueling my anger. "Get your hands off me!" I yelled at the top of my lungs, pushing with all my might against his chest. A bright light burst from my hands, lighting up the whole street. The force of it knocked me back.

He broke away and as soon as his hands left my skin, he returned to his normal angelic appearance. The light caught up with him, and began to push against his flesh, charring him. For a brief instant, I registered the look of panic that flashed across his face, but he vanished in a quivering portal before the full force of the blow could strike him. His Nightmare portal disappeared with him.

I had crashed backward against one of the walls, and there was a sickening crack as my skull made contact with the hard surface. I slumped into a sitting position, collapsed against the wall. My vision started to fade. No. I couldn't disappear now. What would _he_ say...

I watched the redhead from under heavy lids as he lashed out with deadly precision at the opponents closing around him. It was funny, but I had never really seen him fight until now. I had been occupied with Nightmares of my own. I stared at him, vision starting to blur around the edges. I had never realized how cold his eyes could be; they really were like two hard emeralds set in his stony face. I remembered thinking that Hiei was frightening in battle, but Kurama was... ruthless.

My eyes slid shut and I let the light take me.

.

.

.

We had just finished up the last of the beasts when the sound of running footsteps came pounding around the corner. It was Kuwabara, carrying an unconscious Botan on his back.

"Hey, guys. The triumphant hero Kazuma Kuwabara has returned!" he flashed a grin and looked around. "What happened here? And where's Friday?" his smile was replaced by a look of confusion.

"She deserved a rest," Hiei spoke up from my side, surprising me. I arched a magenta eyebrow. Hiei just looked at me, and I recalled my earlier instruction to her not to disappear. So Hiei hadn't spoken for Kuwabara's benefit, but mine.

I noticed Yusuke looking at me too. Why were they behaving as if I was unreasonable? She hadn't disappeared on purpose, and she had finished her fight. There was no reason why I should get angry. Not over this girl.

"The fight is over. Let's go," I suggested, dismissing my rose whip. Yusuke just shrugged and called through his communicator for Koenma to send us a portal.

.

.

.

I was so sore. I ached in placed I didn't know could ache before. But I couldn't explain any of this to Alex, so I just called and cancelled. Tomorrow, I said, tomorrow we can practice two routines. He didn't sound terribly disappointed.

Dale came up to where I was slumped in a big chair, and he ruffled my hair. "What's eating you?" he asked, crouching down in front of me. I sighed. Oh, Dale, you know me too well. It's so hard to hide anything from you.

Well, a freaky dude who isn't even human wiped the floor with my sorry ass last night, I considered answering. My pride was punctured. Here I thought I had been doing so well with the Nightmares... Turns out I really wasn't much of a fighter after all. Oh, I had the spirit, but my body was-I struggled to admit it even to myself-weak. And running scared half the time... what the hell was wrong with me? Shame ate at my insides and turned them to fire. I sighed.

I opted for a different, lesser problem of mine and told him a half-truth: "Well, there's this guy..." I shifted my eyes away from his brown ones that were so much like my own.

"If it's a boyfriend, just say the word so I can go threaten him and then beat him up," Dale said as he cracked his knuckles, look darkening. I laughed. As far as I knew, Dale had never beat up anyone. He was tall enough to be intimidating, but I doubted it would have any effect whatsoever on the guy I was thinking of.

"No, he's not a boyfriend. Isn't even a boy friend," I told him. Dale relaxed visibly.

"I'm just not really sure what to do with him. He doesn't like me at all, but I feel like I haven't done anything to deserve that. And then I hear from everyone else that he's a great guy... I don't want him to _like_ me or anything," I hastened to assure Dale, "I just wish he didn't _dislike_ me." Was that really too much for a girl to ask for?

"Well," Dale said, "I don't know what to do about this boy of yours, but I do know what to do about your gloomy mood." Without warning, he pulled me off the chair and wrestled me to the ground. I was still sore, so I let him win. But even though that may not have been the best thing for my muscles, I couldn't help smiling. Oh, Dale. Deep down, you're just a big sweetheart.

"Alright, alright. You win!" I called from his headlock. He let me go and we sprawled across the floor, grinning. I laid on top of his arm and we picked shapes out of the wood beams on the ceiling.

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.

"Hey, Hati. You wouldn't happen to know anything about Tsuki-Yomi's henchmen, would you?" I asked in greeting as I walked into the room Koenma had directed me to.

"Friday," Hati greeted, and puzzled a bit, "Well, I suppose I know a little, though I was never exactly on speaking terms with them."

"Know anything about someone named Rikyu?" I flopped down to the wood floor, propping my head up with a hand. This was a snug little room, with rows of files along the walls. Hati had been sifting through a small pile of papers spread out on the ground, but he stopped in earnest now, taking a comfortable seated position. As he peered over at me, I almost laughed as I imagined him wearing professor's glasses.

"The name is familiar. I believe he is one of Tsuki-Yomi's two main commanders, though it has been about half a century since I've seen him. Why do you ask?" Hati questioned.

"Well, I figured you're kind of a master of deduction. There were some... weird things about him. Like this one time, he grabbed my arm and suddenly he looked like someone else... a much darker and scarier someone else. He said something about touch, but when I thought about it, I realized nothing happened when we were attacking each other. That counts as touch, right? I mean, it has nothing to do with some kind of twisted romantic crap, right?" I spilled my thoughts.

"Hmm. You're right. It's probably something much more simple. Likely, it just takes a moment-an extended touch-to change his form. It probably developed as a means to conserve energy. All transformations take some. Imagine how inconvenient it would be to always be flipping back and forth in a fight," Hati reasoned cooly, "So, you see, you don't have to worry about your 'romantic crap.'" Somehow, he quirked an eyebrow at me as if asking what I was doing during that battle.

"Relax. I wasn't fraternizing with the enemy. Besides, he's..." I couldn't say it. There was no way to express the horror I had felt looking upon that corpse-like being, dark Rikyu. I swallowed. Hati understood anyway.

"But what is it? Are there... others... like him? Is that what all of Tsuki-Yomi's followers are like?" I continued questing for information.

"It's hard to say. There are many strange things in the worlds. It could be a curse, or... it could just be the way such a being _is_. Our opponents gather many types of servants. I cannot say for certain if they are all the same," Hati informed me.

"Oh. Okay," I mumbled and sat up, "Thanks, Hati." I was about to leave when I remembered some more things I had wanted to ask: "What can you tell me about the Nightmares? From what I can tell, our enemies have some pretty _serious_ dimension powers."

"As do you," Hati replied, "If you can learn how to use them. But yes, you are right, they shield themselves from attack mainly by shifting part of their being into an untouchable dimension. Their attacks, as well as the Nightmare's claws, are able to cut through dimensions... through _our_ dimension. That is what makes them so hard to defeat."

"I see... And I do have one more question," I said quickly. Hati sighed, but gave up trying to go back to reading the papers, "When I was fighting, there were three times when a visible light came out of my body. It looked like it was pretty effective against Rikyu, but I don't know what I did to make it happen. I don't even know what that light is, really."

"Your will to win. It is your most powerful weapon," Hati told me very seriously. There's that will again. Well, it's all very well and good to tell a person that the light that shoots out of their body is a manifestation of their will to win, but that doesn't really help much in practical use of said light.

I sighed and stood, "Okay. Thanks, Hati. See ya 'round."

"Friday," Hati called after me. I looked back at him and he continued to speak, "It's impressive that you've managed to tap into your light so soon. Many Sleepers never learn how."

"Do or die, my friend," I told him and left the room. It was all just a matter of survival anyway, as far as I was concerned.

After I left, I went out on my own to patrol for Nightmares. Koenma had informed me that the energy readings were back to the normal low hum.

The rest of the team was getting their much-needed rest. I supposed it was only fair; other people did have to sleep, after all. So I stood watch over their city, guarding it until the light of daybreak snuck over the horizon.

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"Bye, Dale!" I called, hand on the doorknob, and on my way to dance practice with Alex.

"Wait!" I heard a yelp and fumbling from the kitchen. Dale's sandy-haired head appeared around the doorway. "I need the car today," he informed me bluntly.

"It finally stopped raining so I was going to walk, anyway," I told him, crossing my arms.

"Oh. See you later, then," he replied, ducking back through the door and returning to his late lunch.

I turned to leave and ran into a short roadblock. "Hey, Kaiya. Didn't know you were up," I peered down at her. She was wearing her blanket like a robe, and she rubbed her eyes as she blinked up at me and yawned. "Bye, girl," I said, tousling her hair and giving her a quick peck on the forehead.

"Bye, sissy," I heard behind me as I closed the door and set off down the street at a light jog.

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It was a pleasant early morning up at Genkai's temple, despite Yusuke's protests about the time.

At Koenma's insistence, we had picked this as a safe place for our newly-scheduled weekly meetings. Hati had been pooling information from the old archives of Spirit World, trying to discover what happened to the Sleepers fifty years ago. It was a difficult task, as most of the relevant information had disappeared in the break-in, but Hati had found some tidbits that could prove useful.

While we were here, Koenma suggested we continue our training and try to find more efficient means of combat against our new adversaries. As much as I loathed to admit it, training at this point was a necessity. I frowned as I was reminded that I had lost my edge. Well, at least all my basic skills were still intact. However, the Nightmares weren't enough of a challenge to really hone our team's energies. For that, we needed to face more difficult opponents, namely each other.

But first things first. I refocused my attention on the meeting and the tray of hot green tea in the center of the low table.

The girl appeared suddenly, in the middle of the dirt expanse just in front of the porch where we were gathered. A strange light arced violently over her body, vaguely reminiscent of her usual glow, but distorted... wrong, somehow. Her expression was a mask of unspeakable pain as she fell to the ground, writhing. Her screams shattered the calm that had cloaked this place.

Botan dropped her teacup and ran. Hati bounded past her, reaching the now-still figure first. Yusuke, Kuwabara, Hiei, Genkai, and I followed, though more cautiously. Botan fell to her knees at Friday's side, making motions to check that the woman was alive. I peered down at the girl. She was out cold.

"I've never seen anything like this," Hati said slowly. How could a Sleeper's spirit body be present while they were unconscious? Could it be...

"There must be a reason why she is unable to return to her body," Hati stated my thought out loud, "Botan, please check to see if she is injured."

After a moment, Botan replied, "There's nothing out of the ordinary. It doesn't make sense. She seems to be in perfect health."

"Something must be wrong. If her normal body were injured, it would carry over to her Sleeper form. And if she isn't injured... there should be nothing holding her here," Hati said with a deep and ancient concern.

"Well," Genkai said in a harsh voice, "Are you just going to leave her out here in the dirt, or are you going to bring her inside?"

"Ah, yes, of course. Right away, master Genkai," Botan twittered, then realized she couldn't carry her in alone "Um..."

"We got it, Botan. Don't you worry, Friday. We'll get you fixed up in no time," Kuwabara reassured the unconscious woman as he and Yusuke toted her back indoors.

"Nice to see my dimwit apprentice being a gentleman, for once," Genkai commented dryly.

"Yes, well, Yusuke seems to have taken a liking to her. After all, they do share quite the fighting spirit. Though I must say, Friday takes her duties a lot more seriously," Botan spoke up.

The remaining members of the group started to head back inside. I hesitated, staring at the patch of earth where Friday had been. She had shown up at the wrong time and the wrong place. Why? Had she come here because it was where we were gathered? I followed the others indoors.

I wandered down the hall to a tiny room that appeared to have been a closet at some point. There wasn't even space enough for us all to fit in the room, so I simply leaned against the doorframe and looked in. Kuwabara and Yusuke had set her down on a small mattress in the middle of the floor, and everyone besides myself, Hiei, and Genkai were crowded around. I supposed it was the nearest empty room to where we were, but did they really have to pick one that was so small?

"You know, in the middle of all the fighting I'd kind of forgotten that she's, well... a girl," Yusuke said, rubbing the back of his neck embarrassedly.

"What's that, dimwit? You think she can't be both a woman and a fighter?" Genkai growled out. Yusuke profusely denied ever having suggested such a thing until Genkai seemed satisfied enough to forget about it.

I looked closer at the woman. Now that Yusuke mentioned it, she did look like an ordinary girl. She seemed to be sleeping calmly now, as if she was glad just to finally close her eyes and rest. I realized with a start that such a rest was now a luxury, one that she may never get again.

"Kurama, is there anything you can give her that would revive her?" Botan asked me, pleadingly. There was a nervous edge to her voice that suggested she thought she shouldn't be asking me for anything when it came to this girl.

I looked at the contently slumbering figure, her features untroubled in a face that suddenly looked far too young for the duties that had been thrust upon her. "It's best to let some things run their course," I replied.

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**AN: I debated whether to include the last part, since I thought about adding more scenes in the middle, but there's so much story to get through already, I figured I'd better get it over with. Just so you guys know, I really do write in character when I write the story from Friday's point of view. What I mean by that is Friday's voice isn't my voice. It's not just a lazy way of writing. But from time to time, the story does seem to write itself, to the point where I've been consistently writing 16 pages a day when I work seriously on it.**

**I love the last bit with Kurama. See guys? He does get a little softer. Though I'm sure they misinterpret his intentions with not waking Friday up. Oh well. **

**I still have a deviantart account where I will be posting some pictures of characters, etc... to go with this story. Check it out if you want. I'm theanonymouspen . deviantart . com (no spaces) **

**Thank you for reading :)**

**Please REVIEW! (The policy still stands. More chapters come with more reviews)**


	14. Trapped

**So, I've gotten a lot of positive feedback about Friday's family. I just want to say... don't kill me after you've read this chapter. There's already a sequel planned and I _promise_ you'll see a lot more of them then. So hold your fire.**

**As always, thanks so much for the reviews. Response time! _Anon_: I'm really glad the battle scene was successful. I worry about stuff like that. And yes, not telling you what's going on with Friday _is_ me being evil again. (You're starting to know me so well...) ;] _bananamush_: Friday is more of a person to take action, which is why she and Yusuke get along so well, but yes, she does plan ahead. And I'm glad you liked that last bit with Kurama. :)**

**As a completely unrelated side note, I'm on episode 2 of _Level E_, another one of Yoshihiro Togashi's creations, and I've gotta say, I love it so far! It's very entertaining. Don't believe me, just check out the awesome opening theme. And that person with the flowing golden locks... it's a guy, just so you know. **

_**. . .**_

"_**A**nd I could hear the thunder and see the lightning crack. And all around the world was waking, I never could go back. 'Cause all the walls of dreaming, they were torn wide open. It finally seemed that the spell was broken**." ― Florence and the Machine**_

_**. . .**_

"You've gotten soft, Kurama," Hiei mentioned with displeasure, as if I hadn't realized.

"Is that so?" I replied coolly, the annoyance in my voice well-concealed. I knew Hiei would notice, regardless. He said nothing more.

The four of us continued walking out of the forest; our training done, we were headed back to Genkai's to see if Friday had made any progress in regaining consciousness. Botan and Genkai were sitting on the porch, drinking tea.

"Where's Hati?" Yusuke asked, "Off chasing rats?" He grinned at his own joke.

"Actually, he left for Reikai not too long ago," Botan informed him.

"So does that mean our meeting's officially done for the day?" Kuwabara wondered.

"It would seem so," I replied and excused myself to go change clothes. I couldn't return to my mother looking like this, after all.

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A cool sensation rested on my forehead. I moaned and tried to pry my lids apart, though it felt like someone had superglued them together. Perhaps I should just let myself fall back into that nice, dreamless sleep. Such a thing was so rare now...

The cool object pulled away, and curiosity won. My eyes slid slowly open. Everything was blurry still, and I blinked groggily, trying to clear my vision. It didn't help much. The blur moved back and I felt the mattress underneath me snap into place as a weight was lifted from it.

The further away the blur got, the more I realized it was shaped like a man. The tall silhouette stepped in front of a doorway and my brow furrowed. I tried to lift my head, and succeeded in moving it a few inches off the pillow. It looked vaguely like he had a pair of animal ears perched on his head... But it couldn't be. My vision must have been foggy still.

I groaned; my head pounded and I let it fall back onto the pillow. My eyes slid shut gratefully. I heard the door close gently and listened to the sounds of my own breathing in the silence. Eventually, I got around to opening my eyes again. I stared at the ceiling for a while until they adjusted and started seeing more than blobs and patches of color.

I sat up slowly and looked about me. It was a small broom cupboard, no, a room. The only thing in it was the mattress that I was currently occupying. I noted distractedly the smooth wooden boards that made up the floor; wood was always so nice to lay on in the sunshine.

Belatedly, I realized I had no idea where I was. I didn't even know which world I was in. In fact, I had no recollection whatsoever of how I'd gotten here in the first place. The last thing I remembered doing was leaving my house.

My finger throbbed. I looked down at it. There was a small red mark under the skin, as if my fingertip had just been pricked. I sucked on it; there was still a faint taste of blood.

I worked my way around to standing and stumbled toward the door, opening it and peering around cautiously. I shuffled down the hall in the direction with the most light, trying to keep quiet. Reaching an open doorway, I poked my head around it carefully.

"Oh, hey guys," I said, stepping fully out into the room. It was just the gang and Botan-and this old lady that I didn't know, but I was sure she was okay if they were all sitting down and having tea with her. A thought popped into my head. "You haven't seen a man around here with big animal ears, have you?" I asked the group, positioning my hands on the top of my head as mock ears.

As one, they turned and looked at Kurama-or peered suspiciously, in one fire apparition's case. The redhead simply held up his hands in self-defense, an eyebrow quirked in surprise, as if to say he didn't do anything. Which, of course, he hadn't. I had asked about a man with animal ears, and Kurama was positively ear-less, or at least, his ears were definitely of the human variety.

They directed their attention back to me. "How are you feeling, Friday?" Botan asked.

"Fine. Why? Should I not be?" I replied, confused at her worried look.

"Well, you..." Botan started to say and changed her mind, "Don't you remember anything?"

I thought for a moment. "Nope," I said flatly.

"Are you positive?" she prompted.

"Yes, I'm positive," I replied a little testily, crossing my arms over my chest, "What is going _on_?"

"Umm..." Botan hesitated.

"Just spit it out," I demanded, tapping my foot.

Her words all came out in a barely-intelligible rush: "Well, it was early morning and we were sitting here in master Genkai's temple when you suddenly appeared, but there was light like electricity crackling over you and then you collapsed, and you were unconscious but you were still here in this world, and Hati said he'd never seen anything like it and, and... and then Yusuke and Kuwabara brought you inside and you've been asleep ever since." I was more worried she'd work herself into hysterics than over any weird lighting at this point.

"Hey, now," I said, coming to stand by her side and leaning casually on her shoulder, "Everything's just fine. I feel great."

"Yes... I suppose you're right," Botan replied more calmly, but something still seemed to be worrying her.

"I'm sure tonight I'll fall asleep and end up back in my own world, just like normal," I told her, taking care to appear confident, though in part I was reassuring myself. My voice sounded a little false in my own ears, and I looked away before the lie in my eyes could betray me.

"Yes. Of course," she agreed with me and we smiled a little tentatively at each other, hoping it was true.

"Well this is all very touching," the old woman spoke up, and her voice surprised me with its roughness.

"Oh! Of course. Friday, this is master Genkai. Genkai, Friday," Botan introduced us, "She's Yusuke's teacher, and creator of the technique he uses: the spirit wave."

"It's an honor to meet you," I said politely and bowed to her as I recalled you were supposed to do, both in Japan and to masters. I wondered vaguely if I should bow twice. She nodded back.

"Genkai has a large temple," Botan informed me, "The rest of us will be leaving, shortly, but she has agreed to let you stay here... at least until you go back home." Very practical, master Genkai. And beneath it all was an undercurrent of doubt, wondering just how long my return home would take.

"Then thank you, master Genkai," I murmured, feeling somewhat subdued.

She waved it off with a "Don't mention it, girl," and went back to sipping her tea.

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.

When they took their leave, I heard Botan requesting that master Genkai contact her when I returned home. Master Genkai's response was blunt. Simply put, it was this: "It may be a while." I listened from the other side of the doorway and felt my heart sink. She was right, of course. What was happening was entirely not normal. Even Hati had said so. I sighed and wandered away, hoping that discovering where I was would take my mind off other... more unpleasant things.

And so the day passed as I roamed the empty halls and peeked into rooms filled with antiques and arcades. I sat on the porch and watched as evening fell. No one called me to go hunt nightmares; I didn't know where I was in relation to the city, anyway, so getting there on my own wasn't really an option.

Genkai came to sit by me briefly, with a teapot and two cups. I was surprised at how un-grandmotherly an old woman with her tea set could be. I held my hot teacup in silence as we stared out at the dangerous-looking forest with its dark trees. My tea got cold. Eventually, Genkai went back inside, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

I tried not to think. The night passed by in a haze of trees, cold tea, and darkness. I didn't return home.

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Botan came over the next day and looked at me with a sympathetic smile. It didn't help. I stared back apathetically.

"Don't worry!" she assured me and turned her smile on brighter, "You got quite an unusual amount of sleep. Your body probably just isn't tired yet."

"Yeah..." I replied, trying to smile back. It was only half-successful.

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By the next day I couldn't offer her more than a blank stare.

The day after, I hardly registered her presence. I felt stuck in a trance, neither asleep nor awake.

And each day, the thought crossed my mind of how my family was doing, that they were probably very worried... and every time I extinguished that thought before it could go any further.

But still there was a deep, pervasive sadness. A hole that burned through my chest where it felt like part of me had been ripped out. I tried to ignore it. Sometimes it worked.

And so the days passed. No one asked me to go Nightmare hunting.

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It wasn't yet time for the boys' second meeting at Genkai's, but they came mid-week anyway-though this time, Yusuke insisted on coming later. The numb thought passed briefly across the surface of my mind that they were probably here to peer curiously at me and mutter things I couldn't hear about the strangeness and unexpectedness of it all. I was sitting out on the porch, as usual, so I saw them as soon as they arrived.

Yusuke called out to me as he crossed the dirt entrance, "Hey, Friday! Missed you at the Nightmare hunting this week..." He drew closer, and as I looked up into his face, his thought trailed off. He stopped, and shared a look with Kuwabara, who appeared equally concerned. I should have cared, but couldn't bring myself to, somehow.

The boys passed by me and entered Genkai's temple. I heard them talking about me on the other side of the doorway, but for some reason I didn't mind. I leaned my head against one of the wooden support beams and closed my eyes.

Well, it had been half a week already and nothing had happened. I just hoped someone would say it soon... those words I so desperately needed to hear.

Botan came out of the temple, bearing tea. I took it, expecting the normal Japanese green tea. I was acutely aware of the bluenette studying my face as I took a sip. My eyes widened slightly. "Jasmine," I chuckled, for a moment breaking out of my trance-like state, "It's my favorite. Thank you."

"Jasmine is said to be good for the soul," a voice that definitely didn't belong to Botan said from behind me. Oh. I hadn't realized Kurama had been there. Of course the jasmine tea would be his idea. Probably trying to shock me out of my disbelieving stupor. But jasmine tea really was my favorite, so I didn't mind much. I didn't answer.

"How are you feeling today, Friday? Any better?" Botan asked, trying to keep up a cheery attitude. I just shrugged. I got the distinct impression that she had been encouraged by my comment about the jasmine.

"Friday..." Botan began tentatively. She seemed to debate for a moment before saying gently, "I'm sorry, but it doesn't look like you're going home any time soon. It may be time to get some necessities. I can get you some clothes, if you'd like."

Ah. There they were, those words. A cold splash of reality. I had been needing it for a while now. She was right, of course, and in the back of my mind I had known it all along. For now... this _was _home.

Another thing she'd said struck me. Clothes? I glanced down, and suddenly realized that I was wearing something scuffed and dirty that looked like I'd had it on since I arrived... which I probably had. I pulled on the ends of the shirt, examining it, becoming aware of what a mess I must be. I ran my fingers through my hair and grimaced as I was met with grease and grime. I rubbed an eye. What the hell was I wearing?

"Ah... tell you what," I said, looking up at Botan and seeing her clearly for the first time in days, "How 'bout I go with you." It wasn't that I didn't trust Botan's intentions-I knew she would try to find clothes I would wear-I just didn't trust the wardrobe choice of a who-knows-how-old, blue-haired, bubbly grim reaper. Especially not one who liked to wear fully pink kimonos.

A huge smile lit up Botan's face. The jasmine tea had worked-I could just see her thinking-I was cured! I didn't bother to repress a laugh that bubbled forth at her expression. I stood, dusting off the back of my pants.

"Gomen. I didn't mean to worry you," I said with sisterly affection, ruffling her blue hair, "Now where the hell is the bath?"

She giggled with relief and told me, offering to lead the way.

"I have to admit, these clothes are disgusting," I commented lightly, "You wouldn't happen to know of anything else around I could wear temporarily, would you?"

She laughed and smiled as she agreed with me about the clothes-mentioning that it could have been much worse if I hadn't just sat around all this time-and assured me she'd look for something.

We passed by Kurama. "Thanks for the tea," I muttered, just low enough for only his ears to catch it.

Botan ushered me away and dumped me unceremoniously into the bathing room. It was, admittedly, very cool and very much needed at this point. I had never been in a traditional Japanese bath, but I knew how one worked, so I showered myself down in the room made completely of tile and soaped off before climbing into the round tub of scalding hot water to soak.

"This is a pretty nifty bathroom Genkai has here," I told Botan from the tub as she returned bearing gifts of fresh clothing.

"Oh, well, most of the other baths are more modern, but I figured you could use a good soak," she giggled nervously, worried she might be offending me.

"You know what, Botan. I completely agree," I replied and splashed down into the hot water before surfacing and shaking out my long, purple locks.

She passed me a towel and I climbed out of the tub, drying myself thoroughly. It felt so good to be clean. The germaphobe in me sighed blissfully.

She pulled out the clothes, and nervously began explaining to me that they were the only clean set she could find. Yes, I assured her, I _had_ noticed Genkai was terribly small. No, I hadn't been expecting to wear her clothes. Please spit it out. What was the big deal about a simple tunic and pair of long pants?

"They're Kurama's," she finally confessed, "He was the only one with spare clothing."

I blinked slowly at her, my mind taking a moment to register that Kurama would actually relinquish his clothing to me for the day. I wondered what kind of fight Botan had put up to get them from him.

I sighed, but held out my hand: "Fine. Just give them to me."

The tunic fit alright, though I had to roll up the sleeves of the shirt that went underneath it considerably. I struggled with the pants. The elastic waist was too big and it slipped down to the widest point of my hips. Fortunately, I wasn't shaped like a bean pole. Unfortunately, the pant legs were much too long since the waistline refused to stay up. I tried rolling the ends, but they kept wanting to unroll with every step. I sighed and resigned myself to fighting with them.

Feeling awkward, I made my way back to the front of Genkai's temple with Botan. Unfortunately, this also meant passing through the room where the boys were currently meeting. I paused in the doorway as five sets of eyes looked up at me. Hati had joined them in the time I was gone.

He sniffed curiously as he padded toward me. "Are those-" he began to ask.

I cut him off: "It's good to see you again, too, Hati! I'm feeling much better now!" My over-enthusiasm threw the group off long enough for me to escape to the front door, pulling Botan along behind me-though I nearly killed myself skidding along the slick wood floor when a pant leg unrolled and half-tripped me.

I slid the door open quickly and dashed out, pausing to tug my battered converse on.

"Don't worry. I won't get them dirty," I shot the words, perhaps a little gruffly, over my shoulder at Kurama as Botan and I ran down the steps. We were going shopping. This should be an exciting disaster.

I stopped in the middle of the steps, turning to look at my companion. "Uh, Botan... Who's got the money to pay for this?"

"Reikai's got the money, silly," she told me, pulling a wallet out of her pocket and displaying it.

"But why would Reikai lend us money?" I asked.

"You're working for Reikai now, aren't you? So if you need anything, they'll help you out," she smiled at me.

"Oh. Do the others get paid, too?" I said, but immediately realized it was a stupid question. Of course they did.

The look on her face said otherwise. With an embarrassed cat-face, she informed me, "Well, they started working for Reikai a long time ago and it wasn't really part of the program then. The Reikai Tantei has already been disbanded once. I guess Lord Koenma never got around to mentioning it when they began working for Reikai again."

"Oh," I said, "Should we tell them?"

"Umm... Just leave it to me! I'll mention it to Koenma," Botan assured me.

"Well, alright," I responded, still unsure. "Hey," a thought occurred to me, "How does Reikai have human money anyway?"

"You'd be surprised how much money is lost every year in gutters and couches and the like. It would never be found anyway, so Reikai puts it to good use," Botan said, proudly displaying her knowledge of Reikai's nitty-gritty inner workings.

This world just got stranger and stranger.

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.

I sighed with relief as Genkai's came into view. It had been such a long trip to go anywhere and those stairs were killer! But our trip had been successful and both Botan and I were loaded down with bag after bag of stuff-most of it practical, with a few not-so-practical purchases that Botan had insisted on.

I heard voices beyond the doorway and labored to slide it open with all the bags hindering the use of my hands. The door opened of its own accord. A maniacal cackle followed, and I felt a bag being lifted from my hands. I stepped through the doorway and glared around. Yusuke was frolicking about, trying to get the bag open while the others simply sat at the table and stared at him like he was a complete imbecile...

Yusuke finally managed to pry open the bag; he dug around in it blindly. "Ha! Let's see what Botan found for you, Friday. I bet it's pink and frilly and totally ridic-" Yusuke pulled out a pair of underwear, black and practical. He blinked, confounded.

I stared at him flatly. "Yeah... Botan didn't pick it," I informed him needlessly, stepping up to him and holding my hand out in a wordless gesture. Numbly, he dropped the undergarment back in the bag and handed it over.

"I told you not to do it, Urameshi," Kuwabara mumbled. His brilliant plan had backfired, and in an effort to humiliate us girls he had ended up embarrassing himself instead.

I continued on, striding through the room as if nothing had happened. "I'm going to go change and give you your clothes back now," I informed Kurama. I didn't bother to look at him.

I halted as Yusuke began talking again. "Hey, you _are_ wearing underwear, right?" he asked suspiciously, apparently just realizing that I hadn't had any spare pairs of those either after discovering the contents of the bag.

"Yusuke," I said, giving him a condescending look. "You don't borrow someone's clothing and not wear underwear. That's just plain rude." And with that I continued making my way to the bathroom down the hall.

"What! I had to ask," I heard Yusuke grumbling from behind, likely in answer to the silent, reproachful gazes of his comrades. I could just imagine Kurama's dark look. Suddenly, inexplicably, I felt like chuckling.

And with that, my stay at Genkai's officially began.

.

**AN: Ehehe. So... that last part got totally weird. Don't look at me. The story did it. View it as an outtake, if you wish. Also, Friday borrowing Kurama's clothes... here's literally what happened: _'Oh, Friday's clothes are probably dirty. She'll need a new pair. Maybe I'll put her in miko garb since she's at a temple... but it's not a traditional temple and Genkai is only half her size, so I doubt there are any clothes that would fit her. Hmm... spare clothes... O.o Kurama had spare clothes in a previous scene. Lol.'_**

**This story is taking a weirder turn than I expected. It's like it has a mind of its own...**

**I still have a deviantart account where I will be posting some pictures of characters, etc... to go with this story. Check it out if you want. I'm theanonymouspen . deviantart . com (no spaces) **

**Thank you for reading :)**

**Please REVIEW! (The policy still stands. More chapters come with more reviews)**


	15. Berries

**My hundredth page is being posted as part of this chapter! Yay! (Confetti) Also, I'm past 50,000 words! Longest story I've ever written, and its barely starting. Whew.**

**You guys keep asking what's wrong with Friday. I find it amusing that by now, with all my evilness and cliffhangers, you actually think I'll tell you soon. For now, it remains a mystery... (Muahaha!) Ahem. **

**To prevent confusion, this is a continuation of the day the last chapter ended on. **

**Thanks to _XAudra RoseX_ for reviewing. Glad you enjoyed the ending. Thanks also to _Guest_ for your review. I'm glad you thought Friday's reaction to the whole situation was realistically human. That's what I was shooting for. Since Friday is trapped in her Sleeper form, her powers are likely alright. You'll get your answer for sure in the next chapter, which will probably be posted tomorrow if there are reviews (that's a hint y'all).**

_**. . .**_

"_**T**he woods are lovely, dark, and deep, _

_But I have promises to keep, _

_And miles to go before I sleep, _

_And miles to go before I sleep**." **_

― _**Robert Frost**_

_**. . .**_

My stomach suddenly announced it was dinnertime, and I realized that I was starving. How long had it been since I'd eaten? The boys were going to go home soon and eat, so that left Genkai and I to find food. I didn't want to ask her for dinner, feeling I had imposed on her enough already. Feeling resigned, I made my way to what I hoped was the kitchen.

Good. There was the fridge. This was the kitchen, after all. I opened the refrigerator door and stared flatly. The only thing in it was a bottle of some clear Japanese beverage; I assumed it was sake, but wasn't a drinker, so I didn't really know. I peered curiously around the room at all the shelves. Sure, the temple was a long way away from, well, anywhere, but there's gotta be some food somewhere.

Pantries? I opened the double doors. Well, there was rice. I dug around for a while and came up with a few dried fish and a strange vegetable that apparently didn't need to be refrigerated. I sniffed at it curiously. I put my strange pickings on the counter and dug around the drawers, looking for utensils. I fished out a pot for the rice and put it by the food.

"What are you doing?" the harsh croak sounded from behind me as cigarette smoke wafted my way.

"Oh! Uh... Hey, master Genkai," I said nervously, jumping a little, "I'm making dinner... If that's okay with you."

She just grunted and went to refill the teapot, placing the water on the stovetop to boil.

I noticed something odd. "Where's the oven?" I questioned. I didn't need it now, but it was kind of strange, seeing a stovetop with no oven.

Genkai raised an eyebrow through the smoke and tapped the small glass panel beneath the burners. I gaped: "But that's barely bigger than a microwave!"

"You're in Japan now, kid. What did you expect?" Genkai told me.

"Right..." I muttered, "So, do you want some of, uh... whatever this is for dinner, master Genkai?" I tapped the package of dried fish with a finger.

"Sure," she stated, rather unfeelingly.

"Okay, I'll just start making something then. Hopefully it's edible..." I mumbled to myself, uncomfortable with the silence in the room. I heard the boys laughing in the other room; an odd contrast. Don't get me wrong, I was a fairly decent cook... when I at least knew what the ingredients were supposed to be.

I started to add the rice to the pot, but Genkai stopped me. "What are you doing?" she questioned in a raspy voice, "Use the rice cooker."

"Rice cooker? Right... Japan. Japanese. Rice," my thoughts were jumbled. I looked around blankly. She tapped a white bowl-type thing with a glass lid that sat beside her. I realized it was the rice cooker.

Genkai left the room as I poured rice into the rice cooker and fiddled with the settings, wondering how the heck this thing worked. I had never so much as seen a rice cooker before, but I had the feeling Genkai didn't want to be bothered explaining it to me. There. That seemed about right.

But what to do with the dried fish? Soak it? I went about setting the fish in water and preparing a pan for it. Now for the vegetable. It was strange, pinkish in color, with ridges on its surface. I shrugged and cut it up, nibbling a bit. Ick. Bitter. I made a face. Hopefully it would taste better cooked...

I finished cooking up the fish and vegetables, and poked them with a spatula. The fish was floppy; the vegetables looked hardly cooked at all. I sighed, and felt the beginnings of a headache coming on.

Botan would probably know where a market was around here; hopefully, it was somewhere that sold international food that I would actually know how to cook. I left the room to go find her and ask. Why on earth hadn't either of us thought to get food when we were out shopping?

I found her in the living room with the boys, but our conversation was short-lived. A dense smoke started to pour out from the room I had left behind and we all rushed to put out the fire that was its source.

"You burned _rice_?" Kuwabara asked incredulously.

Yusuke sniggered: "Even my mom doesn't do that, and she's a terrible cook. Guess I can finally tell her she's not the worst."

I sank to the floor and leaned my head against the cupboards, feeling my face heat with embarrassment. The group continued to laugh. Even Botan started to giggle.

Suddenly I couldn't take it. It was such a little thing, but with everything else that had been happening, it was enough to set me off. My head whipped around. "Can it!" I shouted up at them, face red, "I've never even seen a rice cooker, before, okay? Give me a break!" I jumped to my feet and stormed out of the room. I hate this place. I hate Japan. I hate Japanese food. I just want to go _home_.

"Where are you going?" Botan asked, trotting behind me as I stepped off the porch.

"Out," I told her.

"But those woods aren't safe!" she called after me. Oh, so now you're concerned.

I turned with a look that stopped her dead in her tracks. "Then I will kill anything that crosses my path," I said harshly. I ran into the forest, blowing off steam.

Alright, so I was being a bit unreasonable. Likely, I wouldn't kill anything. It was all just so... frustrating, and burning the only food in the house hadn't made me feel that great either. Especially since it wasn't just my food. Genkai was probably very annoyed with me, right now. Some houseguest I was turning out to be. First, I sat around like some-some _blob_, and then I go and nearly burn down the temple. I sighed as I jogged along, and vowed to make it up to her.

After a while, I slowed my steps. The woods were strange. There was an air of danger to them that hung heavy in the air, but at the same time they were beautiful. And old, so old... I reached out to run my hand over the dark, gnarled bark of a huge, twisted tree.

I didn't hate this place, not really. Japan was one of the loveliest places on earth to be-if you didn't have to spend all your spare time fighting Nightmares, that is. And the food was good, even though I had no idea how to cook anything here. I did still want to go home. My family... I nipped that thought in the bud. This place just wasn't somewhere I could call home, and I didn't know if that was something that could ever change.

As I walked, I felt something in my jean pocket, pressing uncomfortably on my leg. Hey! My new iPod. My small, pensive frown turned into a grin, and I pulled it out, plugging the earbuds into my ears as I turned up the tunes. Music always made me feel better, and for once, something was exactly the same as it was back home.

I walked with more spring in my step, and reflected that all this dance was the reason I could even run so far from the temple in the first place. My legs were strong; the rest of my muscles weren't bad either, as I'd been developing my more recent interest in breakdancing, but my lower body was definitely where the power was. I walked along, feeling more than seeing: feeling the way muscles slid past joints, the wind in my hair, the music in my mind. Come to think of it, all the dance I'd done over the years, as well as working on my ability to learn and retain new moves probably helped a lot with the fighting. I wondered if anyone would show me some real fighting moves. I was sure I could learn them, if I tried.

My eyes caught a flash of red, and I was pulled back to my surroundings. Berries? I went over to the enticing bush and pulled a few off. They weren't a variety I recognized. My stomach rumbled. I put one to my lips. Wait. Caution pulled my hand back. This wasn't smart, even if I was hungry. I sighed and dropped the cluster of berries.

There was another low rumble. "Yeah, I hear ya. Sorry, stomach," I patted it in a comforting sort of way. The rumble grew louder. My brow furrowed. Funny, I wasn't feeling any vibrations from my stomach. My feet were feeling mighty shaky all of a sudden, though. The ground quivered.

Slowly, I turned. "Rrrraaaaaoooooooooooaaaaaaa!" the loud blast of noise nearly knocked me off my feet. I stumbled back, and my view of red eyes expanded as the creature rose up on its hind feet, becoming a very large bear, with fur dark as night.

I bit back a scream-it would have just been a waste of breath-and jumped out of the way as a large, clawed hand descended. It missed me, but it did rip my earbuds out. The cords hung at my side.

Run! My instinct screamed at me and I turned tail and obeyed. The bear didn't want to let me go; it followed. Wait a second. It was just a stupid bear. Why was I running? Why was I _always_ running? I became annoyed with myself and forced my body to turn around. Compared to the Nightmares, this thing was hardly unpleasant at all.

I jumped to meet it, and delivered a hard kick to its head. It wasn't fazed, didn't even seem to notice. My brown eyes widened in surprise. I spun around and tried again. Still nothing. As I hit the ground I left myself open. It was just for a second, but a second was all it took. Something sharp tore at my arm. I gasped in pain as I felt the dark liquid trickle down from the wound.

Why couldn't I do anything to stop it? It was just a stupid bear, for goodness sake. I should have stayed and faced it, but in the interest of preserving my life, I bit my lip, turned, and began to run... again.

I hadn't realized on the way here how many brambles and vines there were to trip on and snag chunks of my hair, but I noticed now as I stumbled through the undergrowth. I was certain I was scratched and dirty, but I couldn't feel my body; all I could feel were the pounding steps of the bear, shaking the very earth, as it crashed along behind me.

Where was I going? I suddenly began to question myself. Was I going back there to have them laugh at me? I gritted my teeth. I didn't want to be humiliated again. It was just a mindless animal, and I was letting it get the best of me.

So I stood my ground. It charged at me, and I dodged. Then I attacked. It didn't do anything. The pattern repeated, once, twice, who knows how many times. I wiped the sweat out of my eyes with the back of my non-injured arm.

I darted in front of the bear. A claw caught my pocket and it tore, my iPod falling to the ground in front of the bear's massive feet. No! My tunes. I needed those. I dove back in to grab it before it was smashed.

My fingers closed around the electronic device right as the bear smashed its incredibly strong skull into my ribs, sending me flying back. I don't know how far I went, as the greenery flashed by around me. I crashed through a couple of smaller trees, breaking them as they nearly broke me. Somehow, my spine survived intact.

My relief was short-lived as I sank to the ground. The bear was right there, batting me with a paw. I broke through the dense undergrowth and was sent tumbling through a small dirt clearing that looked vaguely familiar to my jumbled mental state.

"Friday!" a girl's voice called. Oh, that was why it was familiar.

I pushed myself to my feet, vision swimming. The bear was running toward me, but somehow I couldn't even tell how far away it still was. Something red obscured my vision in one eye. My head pounded. I reached up to the eye and felt around it. My fingers jerked away as they found the deep gash on my forehead, the blood slick and hot. Damn, that thing had just barely missed taking out an eye!

I felt myself swaying.

"Get down!" a voice said, and a hand pushed me roughly to the ground. Yusuke, I slowly recognized the voice. I realized belatedly that the bear was already over me, his claws now slicing through the place where my head had been not a moment before. So much for depth perception.

"Spirit-" Yusuke began to yell as he powered up.

"Hey, dimwit! You'll take down my entire forest!" Genkai yelled angrily from behind, and he powered down with a surprised look on his face. He dodged an attack.

Someone grabbed me. Kuwabara. He ran me back to the temple, carrying me in his arms.

"I'll take this, Yusuke," the redhead's voice floated back to me. I turned my head to look blearily past Kuwabara as we put more distance between us and the bear.

"Rose whip!" Kurama shouted, and in a moment, with little more than a flourish on his part, it was over. How? How were they all so strong, when I could barely do a thing?

I closed my eyes as my head pounded. Maybe if I kept them closed, I would drift off into sleep...

My head hit the wood floor with a jolt. My eye flew open. "Sorry!" Kuwabara exclaimed, being so busy bracing my body against impact as he set me down on the porch that he had forgotten about my head altogether.

"No problem," I croaked, dust in my throat.

I was staring groggily up at the wooden ceiling with one eye when a few sets of heads appeared in my vision. Everyone but Koenma was there, it seemed.

"Th'ell happened?" my words slurred together in the haze of fog that clouded my brain.

A large furry head appeared in my field of vision, peering down into my eye with a long snout that was uncomfortably close, in my opinion. Or, I could still be disoriented. "It would seem you almost got an eye to match mine," Hati announced, trying hard to keep his tone light, "Though you were almost not fortunate enough to keep it."

"You mean Reikai doesn't have anything to grow back eyes?" I half-joked, "Lame..."

"Really, Friday," the wolf snapped, losing his temper, "You need to take this more seriously! You could have been killed. Then what would happen to all the people you wanted to protect? Sleepers can't fight demons, Friday. Were you even listening to the lecture about wavelengths?"

Demons, huh. I see, that must have been a demon bear. That explains it. Suddenly, I was glad for the layer of dust and blood that covered my face and hid my deep, embarrassed blush from view. "Ya, I figured that out for myself, thanks," I retorted snippily. Well, I had figured out I couldn't fight it anyway, regardless of what it was.

A sharp, stinging pain shot through my injured arm. "Gah!" I exclaimed, pulling away as I jerked to a seated position. Botan was holding a damp pad on my arm, and wouldn't let go. I hadn't even seen her on that side, because of my bad eye. "God, woman! What is that? Pure alcohol?"

"Don't struggle, Friday. It's Rekai medicine. Your arm will heal by tonight, but you have to bear with the stinging. Wounds often hurt more when you condense all the pain into a shorter time span," the reaper tried to explain to me.

"This place is just determined to make me like it better and better," I grumbled, but gritted my teeth and bore out the pain.

Hati continued his lecture, "Listen to me, Friday! You can't just throw a-a temper tantrum whenever something doesn't go your way!" The wolf spluttered in his frustration, apparently still upset with my outburst over the burning rice.

A searing pain that had nothing to do with my wounds shot through me, as for a brief moment I recalled all the things I had just lost... the whole _life_ I had lost. "A temper tantrum, he calls it," I mumbled and stopped speaking. In case he hadn't realized it, this had pretty much been the worst week of my entire life. I ignored the rest of his speech, as Botan continued to patch me up and clean around my eye.

Soon afterward, the boys left, along with Hati and Botan. Genkai and I began our poorly-cooked meal in silence. I picked around the rice to find whatever portions weren't burnt. The strange vegetable was still bitter. The fish was soggy. Genkai informed me that I shouldn't have cooked it at all; they eat that fish dry.

"Oh," I said, somewhat dejected, but realized she wasn't really being critical. Oddly, she seemed to have a strange sense of understanding about her. I hadn't really pegged her for that kind of person. Guess I was wrong.

When I finished picking at my food, I put my chopsticks down and prepared myself to face her directly and set some things right. I took a deep breath: "Um... Sorry for ruining the meal and setting fire to the rice cooker. I'll learn how to cook better, I promise. And I'm sorry for losing my temper earlier; it was uncalled for. And... thank you for your hospitality. I really am grateful, master Genkai."

My strange mix of apologies and thank-yous sounded awkward in my own ears, but she simply replied, "Just Genkai. I already have one dimwit to be master to. I don't need another." I blinked, but it dawned on me that she wasn't actually insulting me with the dimwit comment. In a way, it seemed like she was saying "Welcome."

"Alright... If you're done I'll take your dishes, then, Genkai," I offered, trying it out.

She nodded, a mix of approval at the title and a go-ahead. Now, I didn't particularly like washing dishes, but it was a rather mindless task, and one that was the same cross-culturally. There was also zero danger of burning the temple down. That was a good thing.

Besides, as a supreme germaphobe, I didn't trust other people with the dishes. I vaguely wondered why all the blood and dirt I'd been in lately didn't send my germaphobic side into absolute hysterics... then again, it could be that it was _too_ overwhelming for it and it ran away to a far corner of my mind and hid until I was clean once again. Well, as long as it was taken care of. I finished my musings as I put the last dish away.

"Follow me," Genkai spoke up as she left the room. I had nearly forgotten she was there; I rushed to dry my hands and trotted to catch up. She didn't walk too far before stopping at a door. When she slid the door open and flipped the light on, I peered inside. It was a medium-sized room, not large, though definitely more comfortable than the repurposed broom closet. There was a small mattress in the middle, but other than that, it was empty. My brow furrowed in confusion, before I realized this was supposed to be my room. I got an odd feeling in the pit of my stomach as I became aware that the bed was more of a customary thing, rather than something I actually needed at this point.

"There isn't much furniture in the temple, but if you see anything you need, feel free to move it in here," Genkai offered practically, "The bathroom is down the hall. I'm sure you won't have trouble finding it." Genkai then left me to familiarize myself with the area as she supposedly went off to bed.

I crossed the room quietly. There was another set of sliding doors opposite the ones I came in through. I opened them and looked out into the darkness. The wraparound porch was still present in this part of the temple; the area beyond looked like it might have been a garden once. The ground was less packed than in the other areas, and seemed slightly less dry. Apparently it wasn't used for training. A few scrawny bushes dotted the landscape here and there.

And there were stars. Oh, so many stars. I looked up and it was comforting to see the same sky, the familiar stripe of Milky Way splitting the sky in two. I grinned as I stood there, looking up, but soon figured I should resume my self-orientation before I had to go back to work.

I turned and noticed two small doors that hid a closet on one wall. I also took note of a window facing outside; it would be a good source of natural lighting during the day. Slipping out into the hallway, I turned the direction I hadn't taken to get to the room. As Genkai had promised, I didn't have trouble finding the bathroom. It was small, with a modern shower, toilet, and sink. There was a large medicine cabinet, filled with gauze, bandages, and what looked like a bottle of iodine.

Pulled back by the promise of stars, I returned to my new room. I turned the light off and sat, leaning against the doorway as I stared up at the night sky.

.

.

.

"I'm home," I called to my mother.

"Welcome back," she said, smiling, as she came to embrace me, "You were out rather later than usual. I was starting to get worried about you, Shuichi."

"No need to worry, Mother. The biology club simply ran a little later than usual," I responded soothingly. I felt a small twinge of guilt, but the sensation was familiar, and I payed it little attention.

"What's this? Shuichi, you're bleeding," my mother exclaimed, touching a finger to a spot behind my ear. But it wasn't my blood.

I nearly cursed my carelessness, forgetting to check behind my ears. I arranged my smile into a look of mild surprise and thought up a quick, convincing cover. "Oh, that? It's nothing, mother. One of the boys at school just had a little accident with the finger pricking experiment, and I suppose he must have gotten some on me. I'll go wash it off right away," I excused myself, climbing the stairs to the bathroom I shared with my stepbrother.

After washing behind both ears, I retreated to my room. I removed the schoolbooks I had brought along for appearance's sake from the top of the bag, and pulled the folded outfit I used for training out from underneath it.

I shook it out, debating on whether or not it needed washing after the woman had borrowed it earlier that morning. She had been true to her word; there wasn't a spot on it.

My roving eyes found a thread of long, purple hair. I plucked it off and stared at the strand between my two fingers. My eyes narrowed slightly as I lost myself in thought. That girl...

.

**AN: So many moodswings in this chapter... hopefully it's understandable. Friday would be feeling a bit conflicted at this point. In case any of you are wondering where Hiei was in the fight with the demon bear, he would probably answer you something like this: _"Hn. Why should I trouble myself with such a weak opponent,"_ and continue to glare generally from his position on the porch.**

**And yes, I'll own up to the fact that the title was a little punny... _Bear-_ries Haha. Get it? (Eel face) Alright... I know I should be ashamed of myself... but I'm not! :D**

**I still have a deviantart account where I will be posting some pictures of characters, etc... to go with this story. Check it out if you want. I'm theanonymouspen . deviantart . com (no spaces) **

**Thank you for reading :)**

**Please REVIEW! (The policy still stands. More chapters come with more reviews)**


	16. Smalltalk

**To clear up any confusion the ending of my last chapter may have caused, I wanted to leave it open what exactly Kurama was thinking about "that girl." He wasn't intended to be mad, just deep in thought. Sorry for the misunderstanding.**

**Thank you to my reviewers! If this site had cookie transfers, I'd give you some. We can pretend anyway... _Guest_: Yukina will be here. I promise. But right now, there's no realistic reason for Friday to be introduced to her. She'll also get to meet Shizuru and Shiori at some point. Can't have a YYH story without the girls, now, can we? And sorry about the confusion with Kurama (see note above); I've also made a minor edit to the paragraph of the last chapter so hopefully it makes a little more sense. _bananamush_: Ah! My faithful reviewer. So good to see you back for more chapters. Glad you liked my punny humor. I don't know how to burn rice, but apparently Friday does. You could ask her.**

**Also, this is a more playful chapter than usual (comic relief?). Enjoy.**

_**. . .**_

"_**H**e felt that his whole life was some kind of dream and he sometimes wondered whose it was and whether they were enjoying it**." ― Douglas Adams, ****The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy**_

_**. . .**_

Midnight sharp. I sat on the porch, head in hands, waiting. My arm was still wrapped with gauze, but it was feeling much better than it had been a few hours ago. There was a large bandage plastered across half of my forehead.

A portal appeared in the middle of the dirt clearing in front of Genkai's temple. I stepped up to it, hesitating. When Koenma had requested I rejoin them for Nightmare-hunting tonight, I had agreed... on the condition that I used Reikai portals as little as possible. I still couldn't seem to get over the sickening feeling of being wrung out like an old, wet sock. Koenma had consented, and decided to send me straight to the site of operation, rather than making me join the briefing in Reikai they usually held before. He said if there was anything unusual, Hati would fill me in. Mostly, those meetings were just a check-in and check-up anyway.

I took a deep breath. It was like entering cold water; the best method was just to jump straight in. My breath caught in my throat as air was forced into my lungs in uncomfortable amounts, making it hard to breathe. The portal spit me out at the other end, depositing me uncomfortably on my rear end. I stood, rubbing my tailbone, head still spinning. Nothing new. Why was there always concrete on the other end? I made a note to speak to Koenma about that later.

A portal opened next to me and the extended gang jumped out. I watched with envy as they all landed gracefully on their feet-with the exception of Kuwabara, who would have landed on his feet if Yusuke hadn't tripped him at the last second. The spirit detective snickered as Kuwabara yelled up at him from his position on the ground.

"So... How are we doing this? Pairs?" I asked generally.

"Yes. Come with me," Hati said imperiously.

I obeyed, and was pleased to find that-despite my recent, unpleasant fighting experiences-I could still kick some serious Nightmare butt. Hati, however, was not impressed. In fact, he still seemed to be mad at me, which I thought was rather unfair, all things considered.

I judged about two hours had passed. "Hati?" I asked, curiously, "Aren't we going to meet up again and switch?"

"You need more training," he replied, "You lack discipline."

My lower lip stuck out in a pout. I was disciplined. And I was certainly a lot more disciplined than Yusuke, if he was going to start comparing me to other so-called-leaders.

Ah, well. I guess that meant I wouldn't have to pair up with Kurama. As the slight feeling of relief washed over me, I realized that in the back of my mind, I had been somewhat dreading that moment all along. But as of yet, we hadn't had to pair up at all, so I guess I should count my blessings.

I shrugged and followed the brooding Hati.

.

.

.

It was weird not sleeping, but somehow my body's energy seemed to renew itself with time. The others had returned to their homes around three, but Hati had worked me until the sun came over the beautiful Tokyo skyline. It wasn't too bad a way to end a night's work, watching the sunrise. Now I was sitting at the kitchen table, sipping a cup of cold tea.

The jasmine flavor reached my lips, and they tugged up at the corners. I had found the small bag of dried tea after much rummaging, and was grateful Kurama had left it here. I had to hand it to the guy, he made some great tea. Not to mention his balms were usually less painful than the ones Spirit World came up with.

But enough of that. If I thought about it too long, I had the sneaking suspicion I'd come to the conclusion that he was a decent person. Tea, however, does not make the man.

I finished off the cup and washed it. What to do now...? I leaned back against the counter. Genkai was nowhere in sight. I didn't really feel like training-however I was supposed to go about doing that-seeing as I'd just had my butt worked off by the evil taskmaster, Hati, himself.

I opened the cupboards, hoping to be inspired. One was a broom closet, filled with cleaning supplies. Well, I supposed I'd be a good houseguest. It would be entertaining enough to explore the rooms along the way.

What I discovered was a considerable amount of dust; small spiders; boxes filled with uninteresting junk; boxes filled with fascinating, ancient junk; closets filled with gis and other various training outfits; weaponry; a collection of girly magazines at least half a century old, which entertained me to no end; cigarette ash; old bloodstains from what I supposed were training accidents, or intentional training byproducts; lint; and more dust. I peeked into a room that I quickly realized was Genkai's and immediately shut the door, though she didn't seem to be in.

It was an impossible task to finish in one day, especially with all my mini exploration breaks, but I vowed to complete the task by the end of the week. For now, however, a serious break was in order. I searched around for an inviting sunny spot and stretched out, feeling the warmth soak into my skin. The dust motes danced mesmerizingly before my eyes.

I had barely been resting a moment when my break was interrupted. "Fridaaaaaay!" the bluenette called in a singsong voice as she burst in through the sliding doors.

"Oh, hey, Botan," I replied, sitting up from where I had been enjoying my patch of sunlight on the smooth wooden boards.

I noticed she was carrying some bags, swinging them from her arms as she bounced this way and that. "What've you got in there?" I asked.

"Glad you reminded me!" she said in a bubbly way, and I wondered how she could have forgotten about them as they appeared to be at least mildly hindering, "Well, this one is actually from Kuwabara." She pulled a large, bulky bag off her arm and passed it to me.

I dug around and grinned when I saw it was snack food. "Aww... That's so thoughtful," I knew all along he was a nice guy.

"Yes, he _can_ be a real softie," Botan said and giggled, "He would have brought it himself, but he has school today, you know, so he asked me if I wouldn't bring it for him and check in on you."

"Blech. School..." I stuck out my tongue. Now that was one thing I didn't miss. "Wait a second. Don't Japanese institutions give you some sort of break this time of year?"

"Nope," Botan replied.

"Bummer..." I muttered.

"Here! I brought this for you too," Botan announced, shoving the other bags into my hands. I sifted through them.

"Wow... that's a lot of movies," I told her.

"Ehehe. Well, I figured you might get bored. And I wasn't really sure which kind of movie you liked, so... I thought I'd bring a whole selection," she explained.

"More like a movie store," I said to myself.

I don't think she heard. "Speaking of that, what kind of movie _do _you like, Friday?" the reaper asked me, continuing her thought.

"Action... comedy..." I said distractedly and shrugged as I looked at all the various titles, realizing with a start that I couldn't actually read Japanese. I had never really needed to before, since all the things with writing on them had also been, for example, transparent packets of dried fish, easily identifiable. Now I had to examine the covers closely before recognizing each movie.

"That's what I thought," she said, smiling brightly.

It was true, most of what she had brought fell into either one of those two categories, though I couldn't help but notice a few of what looked to be cheesy romantic films-mostly Japanese-had slipped in.

I pulled out one of said romantic films, but was pleasantly surprised. "Hey, it's _Shall We Dance?_ I like that film," I commented. It was the original Japanese version, a hard find in America.

"I thought you might enjoy it. I remembered you said something about being a dancer when we were looking in the music store," she referenced the last time we went shopping, "So I thought I'd bring _Shall We Dansu?_ to see if you'd like it."

"Thanks, Botan. That was very thoughtful of you," I replied, truly touched that she had remembered.

"So what were you doing before I got here, Friday?" Botan peered around curiously, noting nothing but the patch of sun I had been laying in.

"Cleaning," I replied, reaching around the door and showing her the broom, "And poking around the place a bit. It was entertaining enough," I assured her, seeing her worried look.

"Well that's no good," Botan responded, thoughtfully, "Tell you what. We'll have to have some real fun one of these days. I propose a movie night."

"That's really not necessary..." I started to say.

"Oh, come on! I can't just let you sit around cleaning the house all day like some purple-haired Cinderella," Botan insisted.

I sighed, but relented: "Alright then... sounds fun." I resigned myself to watching a sappy love story, since I was fairly certain that was the kind of genre Botan would go for, and I knew I wouldn't have the heart to argue with her.

"Tomorrow evening?" Botan asked, hopefully.

"Yeah, sure. As long as a Nightmare invasion doesn't get in the way," knowing my luck, one probably would.

"Righteo, then. We can always take care of them after the movie!" she said cheerfully, determined to watch her film.

"Who's this elusive 'we'?" I grumbled, crossing my arms. I was the one who was going to get stuck with the brunt of the work, and though Botan was useful to have around, she wasn't exactly "taking care of them."

She laughed nervously. "Well, gotta go! Koenma's probably expecting me by now," she said and bounced out, leaving me alone in the room, bags piled around my feet. I resolved to put them away.

.

.

.

When Botan had said "movie night," I hadn't realized she'd meant the whole gang would be there. Now I was staring at the rowdy crowd of people occupying the living room.

Yusuke walked across the room to me, a pretty girl by his side. Her brown hair hung just past her shoulders, and brown eyes looked at my purple hair curiously. I didn't mind; I was used to that kind of thing by now. She looked a little embarrassed as she caught herself staring.

"Keiko, this is Friday," Yusuke introduced, "She's the recent addition to the team." Yusuke apparently elaborated on a previous conversation they had been having. "Friday, meet my fiancee, Keiko," I grinned, noticing the ring on her hand as a small blush spread across her face. So this was the elusive girlfriend-turned-fiancee.

"Pleased to meet you," I extended a hand, realizing a little belatedly that it was a Western custom. She took my hand anyway and her grip was surprisingly strong. I raised an eyebrow, "That's a nice handshake you've got there."

She blushed again, but her stubborn chin gave her away. One of those innocent, but tough types. "Yeah, she's stronger than she looks. You should see her slap. I'm surprised my face hasn't been permanently deformed," Yusuke commented lightly, pointing to his cheek.

"The only opponent to beat Yusuke 100% of the time," Kuwabara came up behind.

"Hey, shut it, Kuwabara!" Yusuke snapped.

"You can't deny it, Urameshi. You're whipped," Kuwabara continued, heedless of Yusuke's warning. Keiko blushed deeply, obviously embarrassed by the situation.

"Oh, and you're not? What about Yukina? Whenever she's around you make googly eyes at her and propose every chance you get," Yusuke shot back.

I snickered. I hadn't heard about that before...

Kuwabara turned his attention to me: "Yeah... too bad you couldn't meet my Yukina. She's in the demon world most of the time, 'cause she's an ice maiden. But she's great. You'd love her. Isn't that right, Keiko?" The girl made a small sound of agreement.

"I'm sure I would," I told the lovestruck boy. Oddly, I noticed Hiei turn and disappear. I wasn't too surprised, since it had been more surprising they'd managed to drag him along in the first place. Botan had probably told him it was a team meeting or something to trick him into tagging along.

"Hiei!" the bluenette shouted after him, "Come back! You can't leave now..." She groaned and started off to find him.

"Hang on a second, Botan," Kuwabara trotted up beside her, "I'll go get him." He tapped the side of his head, indicating that he would use his sixth sense, which was probably much sharper than the rest of ours, to locate the wayward Hiei.

"Ooh," Botan moaned angrily, "How rude. We can't start the movie without him."

"I'm sure Kuwabara will find Hiei soon," Kurama's soothing voice reassured her.

"Let's make this quick," Hati spoke up from the corner, "There are still Nightmares to take care of. Have we decided on a movie?"

"Friday? What's your favorite?" Botan asked. They turned to look at me.

I had expected it to be just Botan and I, but had looked over the movies thoroughly enough to remember what was in there. "Well..." I scratched my head, "_The Last Samurai_ might suit everyone best."

"Hey, that didn't answer my question," Botan accused, pointing a finger with a hand on her hip, "I asked which one was your favorite."

"Uh..." I responded intelligently.

"What kind of a question is that, Botan?" Yusuke berated, "You should ask her what movie she's most embarrassed to like." He teased with a cocky smile.

I thought a moment, and realized to my horror that I did have an answer even though it wasn't one in the pile. A slight blush crept to my cheeks. Yusuke grinned wider and leaned toward me.

"I-it's not even one of the ones Botan brought, so it doesn't matter," I said defensively.

"Oh, that's okay, Friday. I'm sure we have a while before Hiei gets back. I can just pop out on my oar and get it," Botan told me. I wasn't sure if she was being helpful or if her cat-like curiosity was driving her to side with Yusuke.

I gave up and mumbled the title, avoiding their gazes: "_P.S. I Love You_." Best to get it over with. Hopefully, if I didn't put up too much of a fight, they'd forget sooner.

Yusuke busted up: "It sounds so _girly._"

Keiko glared at him, but he kept laughing, clutching his sides: "Deep down, you're just a little girly girl, aren't you, Friday?"

"Am not!" I shot back, hands balling into fists at my sides.

"Are too!" he answered, choking on his own laughter.

"That sounds much more pleasant than _The Last Samurai_," Botan interrupted. So I _had_ pegged her right, "What's this _P.S. I Love You _about?"

"It's about a dead guy..." I mumbled. Botan's face dropped noticeably. Apparently not a good topic for a reaper.

"Who leaves letters for his widow to find..." I continued embarrassedly, rubbing the back of my neck and talking to the floor. Botan's face brightened again. It had some mushy romantic potential.

I tried to justify my choice with something that didn't scream hopeless romantic-which I certainly wasn't-and the words came out in a rush, "He has an Irish accent. Best part of the whole movie."

For some reason, Yusuke grinned so wide I thought his face would crack in two. "Oh, do you like Irish accents?" he asked connivingly.

I continued to mutter embarrassedly: "I do have a bit of a soft spot for Irish accents. They're my favorite. And did you know Ireland has the highest percentage of redheads? Twelve percent..." My words trailed off and I bit my lip in mortification, praying they wouldn't notice. I had just remembered the redhead present in the room.

"Oooooh. Do you like redheads?" Yusuke leaned forward, his face in my face, looking like he could barely contain another bout of laughter.

I didn't answer. Couldn't answer. "Who wants snacks!" I finally burst out with a ridiculously large smile, "So nice of Kuwabara to bring them, you know." I fled to the kitchen.

Botan popped around the door, startling an "eek" out of me. "I'll find this movie for you, Friday. Then we can watch it together!" she said, ever chipper.

"No!" I yelped. Yusuke and Keiko's heads popped around the doorway curiously. "Uh, I mean, thanks but no thanks." I laughed nervously.

"Why not?" Botan questioned, face falling. I didn't want to explain it in front of the boys. I wouldn't have minded too much, telling Botan, but I knew Kurama and Hati were still within earshot, and Yusuke was hanging around the doorway in plain sight.

But I could tell they wouldn't let me get away without explaining myself: "I, uh... I sort of have never been able to watch that movie without bawling my eyes out." I admitted sheepishly.

Yusuke grinned evilly: "We're _so_ watching this movie." He turned to Botan expectantly.

She needed no more invitation, but in the blink of an eye had hopped on her oar and whisked away, supposedly to procure said movie. Probably, this was the only chance she'd ever get to have Yusuke freely agree to watch a sappy love story. I groaned.

Yusuke giggled. "So... girly," he gasped.

"Oh, get out of here, Yusuke!" Keiko ordered, shoving him back around the door. "Really, he can be such a jerk," she told me once he was gone, flashing an apologetic smile.

I smiled tentatively back. An awkward silence stretched between us. I heard some toned-down chit chat in the other room.

"So..." Keiko searched for a topic, "You're from America?"

"Yeah, California," I responded.

"Do you have family there?" she asked conversationally. Usually a safe enough question to ask a foreigner, but I felt my smile tighten a bit. So, they hadn't mentioned to her that I was stuck here. Well, that's alright.

I took a deep breath and tried not too think to hard about that aspect. I distanced myself a little and attempted to give the expected response: "Yeah. There's my parents and I have a younger brother and sister."

"Wow. A large family. Here in Japan most people don't have siblings. I'm an only child myself," she smiled a little, "What is it like, having two little siblings?"

I laughed a bit, though it sounded kind of strained: "Well, they're not _little_ little siblings. Actually, my sister, Kaiya, _is_ little. She's fifteen, but she's still a squirt, and she acts half her age. She's pretty cute, though... My brother, Dale, is seventeen, only two years younger than me. We're... close..." I trailed off. My heart hurt so bad it felt like I had just been stabbed in the chest. My brother, my best friend, was probably worried sick over me. He must be so hurt and angry, and here I was, getting ready to watch a movie. It didn't seem fair... it wasn't right at all.

And I wondered which was worse: if they found my body in whatever state I left it in, or if it had simply vanished, been erased completely from their world. Either way, I was sure they had worked themselves into hysterics over it. Poor little Kaiya... she was still such a baby. How would she ever face this? And Dale... my heart clenched painfully.

"You must miss them a lot," Keiko noted.

"Yeah," I responded, and was surprised to hear how raw my voice sounded; it was like I had been screaming for days, though I hadn't uttered a sound.

Keiko didn't ask me any more questions. I wondered how strained my expression was to make her stare at me like that, brow furrowed. It didn't feel like I had any particular look on right now, and I had to refrain from reaching up and poking around with my hands to read my face. I noticed belatedly the silence that came from the other room. Those boys... they had been listening in on our girl time, I thought with mild indignation.

Botan popped back in to relieve us of the awkward moment. "Found it!" she declared, holding up the disk "What did I miss?"

"Friday was just telling me about her family," Keiko responded calmly.

"Don't they sound just lovely?" Botan twittered. I had told her a bit about them while on our eventful shopping spree.

"Yeah, they do," Keiko replied, taking care not to disturb me.

The blue-haired ferry girl switched topics abruptly, a huge grin spreading slowly across her face. "Hey, Friday. I forgot to ask you earlier, but since we're watching a romance..." Botan began.

I groaned, sure I wouldn't like where this was going.

"Well..." Botan said nervously, putting her best cat-face on, "Any special people in your life?"

"Yeah. My family," I deadpanned.

"Oh, you're no fun!" she pouted, "You know what I mean... Is there a lucky guy back home?"

"You know, I tried that whole 'doting girlfriend' thing. Gotta say, it didn't really do it for me," I told her, crossing my arms behind my head and left it at that.

I turned to the snacks arrayed on the counter: "Now let's get this stuff ready so we can start the movie when the boys get back."

.

**AN: Just a heads-up. I usually try to post every other day during the week (to give everyone time to read the update who wants to) and every day over the weekend. Please review if you would like me to post the next chapter tomorrow.**

**I still have a deviantart account where I will be posting some pictures of characters, etc... to go with this story. Check it out if you want. I'm theanonymouspen . deviantart . com (no spaces) **

**Thank you for reading :)**

**Please REVIEW! (The policy still stands. More chapters come with more reviews)**


	17. Trouble

(Make it double)

**Aaaand... back to serious chapters. Le sigh. Hiei's "pearls" of wisdom, sobering realizations, group division, horror films, bad guys... all coming up next.**

**Thank you to my lovely reviewers. _Guest_: Here I am, posting "tomorrow." It was kind of a short chapter by my more recent standards, though it's the same length my chapters originally were. Enjoy this one. It's longer. _XAudra RoseX:_ After much debate, I think Jin and Friday may meet eventually, but probably not in the way you're thinking of... and maybe not till the sequel. (Sorry. I know I'm terrible like that. Have this awesome chapter as compensation.) _bananamush:_ I think Friday got enough embarrassment anyway with her redhead comment without knowing that there's a redhead Irishman around. Can't torture her too much, can we? Glad you enjoyed the more lighthearted chapter. It was fun to write, and I felt it was much needed after all the stuff I'd put Friday through in the past few days... Ehe. **

**Warning: Evil cliffhanger up ahead. Review for the next installment, please!**

_**. . .**_

"_**W**__hen trouble thinks it's found us, the world falls down around us, I promise baby you won't ever, you won't ever feel a thing__**." ― The Script **_(Hey, would you look at that. They're Irish too...)

_**. . .**_

_Yukina._ I rested my head against the smooth bark and closed my two crimson eyes as a third, purple eye opened on my forehead. She seemed to be doing well. The Jagan eye closed.

That oaf. What did he think he was talking about with the "my Yukina" nonsense? I would have run my sword through the fool long ago if Yukina hadn't liked him well enough. I was certain his departure would grieve her, so I stayed my hand.

But I could have killed him, had I wanted. And when he talked about her, I often entertained the thought. It was true, I wouldn't kill the imbecile, but it thinking about it was soothing.

Some humans perform ridiculous exercises to calm their souls; I say, just rid yourself of the source of your irritation. It won't grow into a pearl over time.

"Hiei!" the loud voice broke the silence, grating on my nerves. Here comes the oaf now.

Sure he was here to drag me back and force me to watch some ridiculous human story for the sake of "entertainment," I didn't answer. He found me anyway. His sharp sixth sense was one the things I most disliked about the oaf, surpassed only by his voice and the delusion that Yukina would ever fall for someone like him.

He talked loudly up at me; I ignored him. Finally, desperate to retrieve me, he shouted up through the branches: "C'mon, Hiei. We even have ice cream! If you won't come for the team, at least come for the food."

Resigned, I dropped down from the bough, hands buried in my pockets as I walked past him in the direction of the temple. He sighed and muttered something that sounded unpleasant, but followed.

It wasn't that I had a particular affinity for the human food, but something about it reminded me of Yukina, so cold and sweet... I wondered if she had ever tasted it before. Perhaps someday, I would find a way to share some with her.

We walked the rest of the way in silence.

.

.

.

Gerard Butler's handsome face filled the screen and Yusuke sniggered: "Now I see why you like such a girly movie, Friday. You think he's a hottie."

I searched for something to throw at the back of his stupid, gelled head. A soft pillow was the only thing within arm's reach-besides the popcorn bowl, but I couldn't sacrifice something so important to Yusuke-it hit the mark. Yusuke's face went straight into the bowl of popcorn he was holding on his lap. He shook his head and most of the kernels went flying out of his hair, but one remained stuck, undetected. I grinned covertly.

The minutes ticked by. At first, it was a bit embarrassing to be watching such a mushy movie surrounded by all these boys, but the feeling passed, replaced by a nagging in the back of my skull.

We had passed many tear-jerking moments, but this was the one that always made me cry, every time, without fail. I didn't feel a thing. Sure, I knew that it was a sad scene, but I couldn't feel for the characters at all. The discontentment grew.

It seemed to take forever, but finally the popcorn bowl emptied as the girls fished the last of the kernels out of the bottom. I could excuse myself to go refill it.

I rustled up another bag of unpopped corn and shoved it in the microwave. The hum of the machine filled the room as I pressed start. And as I stood there, alone in the dark kitchen, I covered my face with both cold hands. This wasn't... where I was supposed to be. I wasn't myself in this place. Slowly, I had been coming to an unpleasant realization, confirmed today as I watched this film. The sound of kernels popping dispersed into the silence.

And I understood that I couldn't even feel enough to cry anymore. I rested my head against the cupboards and shut my eyes. If this was another one of my mind's attempts to buffer itself, I wasn't sure I appreciated it. I returned with the fresh bowl of popcorn before they could miss me.

By the time the movie ended, it had Yusuke, Kuwabara, and the girls crying on the floor. I was more stony-faced than ever.

Yusuke dragged himself to his knees and grabbed my shirt collar, pulling me toward him from my seat on the couch. "Why? I thought you said this movie always made you cry, Friday, so how come we're the ones losing it. It's not fair!" he demanded in a stuffy voice as the tears still streamed down his face. No. It isn't fair, Yusuke.

"There, there," I said gruffly, patting his head, "You just go back to your girlfriend and maybe she can show you how to get yourself back under control. She seems to be doing a pretty good job of it, herself." Keiko was currently busy wiping the few remaining teardrops away from the corners of her eyes.

He complied and I was left alone at the end of the couch with my thoughts, though thankfully not for long.

"Now, if we're finished here," Hati interrupted the sobs, "I believe it's time to get back to work." Never had I been so glad to hear those words.

.

.

.

"The night is nearly gone and you haven't even eliminated half a dozen Nightmares," Hati growled huffily.

"That's because there _are_ none," I snapped. Spending the whole night training with Hati was really starting to get on my nerves.

"You're just not trying hard enough, Friday! It's been days and your sixth sense hasn't improved at all. Have you even been practicing? You could hardly sense a Nightmare if it was right in front of you," Hati lectured.

"I _am_ trying! There's nothing around us. And you know why? Because I've been taking care of them!" I retorted, my frustration growing.

Hati just shook his head: "It is a shame there is no other to hold the position of head Sleeper." His words cut deep.

"If I'm not good enough, dammit, then what the hell am I even doing here?" I shouted at the wolf.

"Unfortunately, you're the only Sleeper we've got," Hati replied, nose crinkling with displeasure. What was his problem? He'd been such a jerk the past couple of days. I couldn't even stand being around him for Nightmare hunting.

"Hey, not my fault," I said, raising my hands defensively, "I suggested looking for some others and you all said no. So it looks like you're stuck with me. Though if you know a way to get me home, believe me, I'd take it gladly. Then you can wash your hair of me and be about your merry way." I walked backwards, away from the irritating mutt.

"You're not going anywhere," he stated and barked, "Now focus!"

I ground my teeth together and closed my eyes, hoping to forget about Hati's ever-watchful presence, as I attempted to concentrate past my pounding headache.

For a brief moment, I thought I felt something familiar, lurking above the buildings, but it was gone before I could explore it further. I moved on.

.

.

.

Damn wolf. I swept the floor aggressively, mute anger making the dust fly in clouds only to settle again where I had just been cleaning. I growled and tossed the broom to the ground, giving up.

I stalked to the living room and threw myself down on the floor in front of the pile of assorted films. I needed something to take my mind off everything, and get it away from this place.

I shuffled through the covers, my inability to read Japanese characters fueling my irritation. Finally, I gave up and settled on _The Last Samurai_, not wanting to have to pick again. I wasn't really in the mood for comedy anyway.

Removing the black disk from the case, I shoved it in the DVD player and went to get a snack from the kitchen. I slammed the door of the microwave after inserting the popcorn and subsequently winced. It wasn't nice to damage Genkai's appliances; I would have to be more careful. Breathing deeply with eyes closed, I counted to ten, trying to let go of some of my frustration. It nearly worked.

I heard Hiei's voice from the other room and turned around curiously. What was he doing, visiting the temple? Stepping into the other room, I peered around. There was no one there. Just the TV. Something green with lots-and I mean lots-of eyes all over its body was on the screen. Hiei's voice came out of its mouth. I gasped, recognizing the Jagan eye. What was going on? This definitely wasn't the movie I thought I'd be watching.

Slowly, I made my way around the couch and picked up the remote, turning up the volume. Hiei was in the middle of declaring his plans for creation of a slave army to a much younger Yusuke. There was a girl between them, eyes closed, and I realized with some shock that it was Keiko. I heard the microwave beep, but couldn't tear my eyes from the scene.

In the middle of Hiei and Yusuke's fight, the movie switched tracks. I watched as one after the other, the boys tore down four creatures in some kind of stone castle. The scenes shifted so quickly from one to the next that I became disoriented. There was no continuous story, just image after image of the boys as they took their turns in the spotlight, cutting down opponent after opponent with cold eyes. It passed by in a blur of blood, swords, whips, plants, and bursts of energy, always moving on with death as the final resolution.

My legs wouldn't hold me any longer, and I fell back onto the couch. All the scenes that went flashing by now seemed to be set in some kind of arena, but the story wasn't whole. It cut around, jumping from one attack to the next. What was this tape? Who were these boys?

_Didn't I do the same?_ A small voice whispered in the back of my mind. I supposed it was true, but the Nightmares... they were just beasts. Mindless, hardly more than puppets. It was like removing Tsuki-Yomi's ghostly fingers. But these beings... they looked too close to human. How were the boys okay with just cutting them down like that?

_They're demons. They're enemies. You're not the only one with something to protect._ The voice tried to justify the on-screen massacre. I felt my tensed muscles relax slightly.

Then on the screen appeared humans. There was no doubt of it. They were just kids, still in high school. The boys took care of them too. A gasp escaped me, and my hands flew to my cover my mouth, rendering me mute. My jaw hung slack. I barely noticed, eyes glued to the traitorous screen. Something about it was like a train wreck, and mortified though I was, I couldn't look away.

More and more humans flashed by. A small kid appeared, and I silently prayed that things wouldn't continue in the same way... they did. It seemed to be just a game, but somehow... somehow the kid was dead. And Kurama had killed him. And he did it without seeming to feel a thing.

No. No! This wasn't how it was supposed to be. Sure, I had never thought Kurama was much of a jewel, but _killing_ a little, human kid... I could hardly believe he had done such a thing. It was... impossible in my mind.

I vaguely noticed the events on the screen had switched back to demons, but my eyes were glazed over in shock. My head fell into my hands, and I listened to death cries with ears that felt like they had been stuffed with cotton.

.

.

.

Somehow I had collected myself enough to move again, though it had taken most of the day to even remove myself from the couch.

"Are you alright, Friday? You look a little pale," Botan questioned as I met them to start our night's work.

I swallowed a strange lump in my throat and asked: "Why did you give me that tape, Botan?"

"What tape?" she asked, puzzlement written all over her face. I guess she hadn't meant to give it to me. She would have known exactly which tape, if she had meant to bring something so... so horrifying. It didn't seem like a film she would ever offer me, anyway.

It must have slipped into the pile accidentally... in the wrong case. Something was off. "Nevermind," I tried to wave it off with a smile, but it felt stretched.

"Friday?" concern clouded her voice.

"Let's just go," I said, turning to Hati resignedly.

"Hopefully," he stated superiorly, "You intend to do a better job than yesterday."

My smile dropped from my face instantly, to be replaced with a frown. "You know what? If you're so concerned, why don't you just fight them yourself, 'cause frankly, I haven't seen you lift a finger!"

"I shouldn't have to fight, if you were anything like the Sleepers used to be!" Hati retorted.

My insides burned. "What the hell is your problem, anyway?" I accused, pointing a finger, "All you ever do is criticize." The others watched this exchange in silence.

"I wouldn't have to criticize, if you were a better fighter," Hati told me.

I stood down and growled. He was right, I should be a better fighter. That's why I was _trying_ to become one. But he certainly wasn't helping. Not at all. "Fine," I forced out, "But I'm going out alone tonight. I'm sick of you." I turned to leave down a dark side alley.

"I'm coming with you," Hati insisted, ignoring my request.

My hands balled into fists by my sides, and I felt the ire rising as I spun around. There was a strange tingling as my eyes flashed in a white-hot glow. "No!" I shouted down at him.

Hati shifted back, seeming surprised.

"Fine," he growled out, jaw set.

"Fine," I shot back, spinning on my heel and storming off.

I could feel the eyes of my teammates as they watched my retreating back curiously.

.

.

.

Damn Hati and his sixth sense to hell. I was going to find some Nightmares the good old fashioned way: wandering.

I stopped walking abruptly, coming to the realization that I had been going in circles for the past ten minutes, and scowled.

"I don't suppose there are any Nightmares conveniently here?" I grumbled, walking down the nearest side street.

"No," a rich, smooth voice answered from behind, "Just me."

I gasped and spun around, exclaiming, "Rikyu!" Dammit. I hadn't even noticed his sizable energy. I frowned as I was forced to admit to myself that Hati's sixth sense had its uses, after all.

"I'm flattered you remember," he said with a smile as he hovered six feet off the ground, directly in front of me.

"What do you want? If it's another fight, I should warn you now that I'm not in the best of moods," I growled up at him, fists rising in front of me as I dropped to a fighting stance.

"Oh, I'm not here to fight you, Sleeper," he said and chuckled, crossing his arms as he cocked his head and examined me, "Feisty little thing, aren't you?"

I ignored his latter comment. "Then what are you here for?" I demanded a proper answer.

"To put it bluntly..." he descended lower in the sky, "I'm here to make a deal with you, Sleeper." His feet touched down gently, palms spread in a gesture of goodwill. I felt shivers run down my spine. The way he said that... I didn't like it. It was, for lack of a better word, creepy, and the peaceful offer seemed to mold around his tongue all wrong.

"What on earth are you talking about?" mistrust lingered in my eyes, and I didn't drop my fighting stance.

"Frankly speaking, I'm talking about _you_," he came closer, "joining _us_."

My mouth gaped, and I was so shocked that my hands dropped automatically.

I spluttered, "W-why the _heck_ should I join _you_?"

"Not me... us. Join our cause. You see, in time this world will fall. The immortals who deserve to have dominion here will return to claim it sooner than you think. And then there will _be_ no more mortals. But you could remain... if you wished. That is, as long as you fought _for_ Tsuki-Yomi, rather than against him," he smiled winningly, words pouring off his tongue like honey.

"As if!" I retorted, guard back up, "I'm going to stop Tsuki-Yomi. He'll never get away with it as long as I'm still standing."

Rikyu shook his head, pityingly. "You are still standing because he allows you to stand," he informed me.

My eyes narrowed, disbelieving. "Then let him come get me!" I challenged, "I've taken out all the Nightmares he's thrown at me, and I'll deal with him, too."

A spine-tingling laugh escaped his lips. He gazed at me amusedly: "Tell me, Sleeper. What do you fight for? Do you really think your cause is noble?"

My face went slack. Of course it was noble. Those Nightmares didn't belong. "I've heard the story, about this stupid triangle of jealousy," I told him, "And I'm dead sure those Nightmares aren't supposed to be anywhere in this world."

"Ah... you humans always complain about non-native species," he said lightly, "But perhaps you should take a look at yourself, Sleeper, and tell me. Do you think what you are is _natural?_ Do not forget: beings like you were made _in response_ to the creatures you try so hard to defeat."

My mouth opened and closed like a fish. I had never even thought about such a thing. Was I supposed to exist even less than the Nightmares?

He continued on, smoothly, "And just look at the company you keep. You would be far better off with _us_. After all, your team is not so virtuous as you perhaps once thought..."

Realization clicked, grinding all other thoughts to a halt. "You! You were the one. That tape was yours!" I accused.

"Ah! Looks like I've been found out," he said with mock surprise, "But would you really blame me," he arched an eyebrow, "For showing you the truth?"

I ground my teeth together, shock turning to anger, "It may be the truth, but I doubt it's the whole story." That was right. I remembered now that they _had_ told me some of these stories. Hiei's evil plans were stopped and he ended up joining the Reikai Tantei and saving the world several times over. Kurama fought that demon who had threatened his mother's life. Yusuke fought to protect Keiko. Kuwabara fought because he couldn't let his friends go alone. There must be a reason for everything. There'd better be.

A slight frown adorned Rikyu's face: "You know, this conversation isn't quite turning out how it should." He took a step toward me, and my stomach flipped as I realized he was close enough I could reach out an arm and touch him. "Everything will be much more pleasant if you would simply join us," he said, persuasive.

"Never!" I shouted up into his angelic face.

He sighed, "Then I suppose we will have to switch to a more... aggressive tactic." And without warning, he swooped down, hand wrapping tightly around my covered ankle. He didn't stop as he literally swept me off my feet. Rikyu shot back up into the sky, trailing me upside down behind him.

The air shot out of my lungs with a surprised whoosh, but I couldn't even scream. I watched with a pounding heart as the ground grew further and further away and cars became the size of ants. We broke free of even the tallest surrounding skyscrapers as he finally stopped, dangling me in the air. For once, I was glad my enemy was strong as he held his grip on my ankle. I squeezed my eyes shut, the incredible height overwhelming.

"Things could be much more civil between us, Sleeper," he said in a disappointed tone, "If only you would come to see that we are in the right."

I felt him lifting his arm, pulling me up so I dangled with my face in front of his lean, muscled torso. My hair hung over my head, pulled down by gravity. He inclined his head in my direction: "So... what do you say, little Sleeper?"

I bent my face up to look him straight in the eye and gave him my best glare. I didn't answer.

Slowly, he peeled his fingers back, one by one, until only two supported my weight. My mouth popped open in horror. He was really going to do it!

"Yes?" he inquired, seeing my look, "Did you want to say something?"

I hardened my eyes as my mouth snapped shut. My heart fluttered hysterically.

"Pity," he said and let go.

.

**AN: Quick note: there was no Youko in the film, because he isn't recognizable at all as Kurama. Hiei's other form still shares his voice. We'll get some Youko later though, so don't you worry...**

I still have a deviantart account where I will be posting some pictures of characters, etc... to go with this story. Check it out if you want. I'm theanonymouspen . deviantart . com (no spaces)

Thank you for reading :)

**Please REVIEW! (Why yes, the next chapter _is_ being held hostage dependent on reviews. However did you guess?)**


	18. Lost

**Thank you as always to my lovely reviewers! I really appreciate it :]**

**_XAudra RoseX_: Here's your update! **

**_bananamush_: Yes, Hati is acting like a jerk. Poor Friday... Glad you thought them all crying at the end of the movie was funny. The scenes in YYH where Yusuke cried always made me bust up laughing. Especially when Kuwabara pretended to be dead. So much for Mr. Tough Guy.**

**_N. :_ I'm so glad you've been following my story! Thank you for reviewing even though it was a bit of a hassle by phone. I'm really flattered that you think my story is original and actually interesting... believe me, I tried. Sorry that you feel the chapters are short. I had to chose between updating frequently and having longer chapters, and I decided the former was best. Also, I'm trying to look for natural breaks in the storyline. **

**_Angel of Randomosity:_ I read your comment and my eyes nearly fell out of my head. Just out of curiosity, what chapter are you referring to? And why do you still want to hurt poor Kurama O.o I thought he was getting better (at least, he hasn't even done anything to be blamed for in _this_ chapter). Don't smack Hati! He gets better, I promise!**

_**. . .**_

"_**B**ecause I am a woman, I must make unusual efforts to succeed. If I fail, no one will say "She doesn't have what it takes.' They will say, 'Women don't have what it takes**.'" ― Clare Boothe Luce **_

_**. . .**_

A high scream split the air, long and loud. I cast my sixth sense out and began running as fast as my legs would carry me toward the sound.

Digging the communicator out of my pocket, my fingers fumbled to open it. I pressed a button to enable conference call and the others quickly connected.

"What is it, Kuwabara?" Yusuke asked impatiently.

"It's Friday. I think she's in trouble!" I shouted at the device, never slowing my steps.

I heard Botan gasp.

"We'll be there," Yusuke said.

"Agreed," Kurama added.

The shrimp kept quiet, but I knew he was listening. He would go. He wasn't as cold as he pretended to be.

I nodded, forgetting they couldn't see, and snapped the compact shut, putting on a burst of speed.

.

.

.

My heart shuddered and nearly stopped. I felt myself break out in a nervous sweat that chilled me as the air rushed past. The ground rushed up to meet me and my head spun dizzyingly. There was nothing to break my fall. The stories flew past.

There were only a few feet left to go. I squeezed my eyes shut tight, hoping against hope that I would wake up. That this-all of this-had just been a bad dream.

I jerked to a stop and a pain broke out in my leg, all the way down to my hip, from the sudden deceleration. My arms fell forward to dangle freely above my head. I opened my eyes, my pupils darting around to take in my surroundings. The rough, grey concrete was inches from my fingertips.

I wasn't dead. Why wasn't I dead? I was still hanging, suspended in the air, but how? I lifted my head slowly, feeling the effects of whiplash all the way down my spine.

Rikyu peered at me curiously, a pleasant look on his face. He was floating upside down, legs crossed, as if it was the most natural thing in the world. His hand gripped hard around the ankle of my pained leg.

My breath came in ragged gasps as I tried to replenish the air that had been lost in my uncontrolled dive.

"Well, up you go," he stated, switching hands as he righted himself and sped back up to a position high in the sky.

I gritted my teeth, head pounding. It was so hard to breathe. I was struck with a sudden bout of lightheadedness.

Rikyu stared at me intensely, as if trying to convey the gravity of the situation with his yellow eyes alone. "I'll be honest. I like you, little Sleeper. It would be a shame to lose you now," he told me, voice deepening from its earlier conversational tone, as I dangled from an ankle over the city lights far below. He didn't need to say it; I knew he would not catch me this time. He was offering me one last chance to accept his terrible offer.

I thought about it. I really did. Anything to save my neck. But I just couldn't do it. So I steeled myself to do something stupid. If I was going to go anyway, I wouldn't go out with a whimper.

My teeth clenched and I tightened the muscles in my free leg, bringing it up swiftly so my heel met his surprised jaw with a solid crack.

And for the second time, I fell. As I tumbled through the air, I could just make out Rikyu's form floating high above me, arms crossed unconcernedly behind his head. He really wasn't going to catch me this time. I let my lids slide shut.

My life started to flash before my eyes, but before it could get too far, I heard a voice shouting below me: "Spirit sword get longer!" My eyes shot open as something heavy collided with me, hard. Arms wrapped around me and we fell from the sky together, crashing into the unforgiving ground. It was not a pleasant landing-the impact was jarring, though his body broke my fall-but at least we were alive.

I struggled to sit up, choking on the cloud of dust as it filled my lungs, and clambered off Kuwabara's chest. "Thanks," I managed shakily, clapping a hand on his shoulder as I tried to help pull him out of the small crater his body had made.

There were no words to fully express my appreciation, but he just looked into my eyes and nodded. "Don't mention it," he croaked, laboriously pushing to his feet. Oh, Kuwabara... such a gentleman. Fortunately for me, he loved playing hero.

Actually, I was really glad to be alive right now. Really, really glad. So glad I... well, you get it.

But there wasn't time to contemplate my survivor's joy. Rikyu descended, hovering a couple stories above us with an unpleasant scowl on his face.

Kuwabara and I turned shakily to face him, determined to stay on our feet, no matter how much our legs felt like they were made of pudding. I wondered briefly if his back hurt as bad as mine did. I felt like hell, but he had taken the worst of the fall that time.

The running footfalls pounded nearer as their owners came into view. Everyone... I swallowed past the lump in my throat. They had come for me.

I faced Rikyu with more hope. His eyes narrowed. "Tch," the annoyed sound drifted on the air to us.

"Well, it doesn't matter, anyway. Tsuki-Yomi always gets what he wants, in the end," Rikyu stated, and he disappeared in a rippling, dark portal.

There was a grunt beside me as Kuwabara fell forward.

"Kuwabara!" I shouted, turning quickly in an attempt to rush to his side. "Ah!" I exclaimed as my back cracked painfully. I bent over, holding my hand to my spine like an old granny-well, any one besides Genkai, that is.

Botan had been running to Kuwabara, but stopped between us, looking back and forth, conflicted. I flapped my hand at her. "I'll be fine, just fine," I drawled, but winced as I tried to straighten.

"Thanks for breaking my fall, Kuwabara. You saved my neck... literally," I chuckled grimly.

"But not your back, apparently," Hiei commented from the sidelines.

"Hey, shorty! I didn't see you comin' to get her. And we all know you're the fastest guy around," Kuwabara grumped at Hiei as Botan bent over his injured back.

"Alright, would somebody please tell me what the hell happened?" Yusuke demanded, stepping forward, "What did that guy, Rikyu, do to mess you both up so bad?"

"Sorry, we couldn't take him out for good, Urameshi..." Kuwabara apologized from his sprawled position on the ground.

"What the hell. The guy can fly," I offhandedly reassured Kuwabara, "That's an unfair advantage if I ever saw one."

"So you're beat up... because he can fly," Yusuke deadpanned.

"He dropped Friday from up there," Kuwabara elaborated, pointing.

"Twice," I added, keeping my tone carefully unconcerned despite the fact that I had been flipping out while I was actually falling. They didn't need to know that.

"What happened the first time? I don't remember catching you," Kuwabara questioned with surprise.

"He caught me," I stated.

"Why? Didn't he drop you?" Botan asked, looking up at me, puzzled.

"He must have wanted something," Kurama observed sharply.

"He wanted me to join Tsuki-Yomi," I stated casually, not wanting them to overreact to the situation. I wasn't a traitor.

"And you said no," Kurama surmised.

"Twice?" Kuwabara asked incredulously.

I shrugged, back popping painfully at the gesture, and grimaced: "I guess I should've said yes, saved my back."

They looked at me in shock.

"Relax... it's just a joke," I muttered, turning my face away.

That was odd. Where was the scolding from Hati about the bungled job I'd just done?

I looked around curiously. "Where's Hati?" I asked, eyebrows shooting up.

They all suddenly seemed to realize we were one short as their heads searched this way and that for the awol wolf.

"He must have returned to spirit world..." Botan pondered.

"That's right," Kuwabara remembered something, "He doesn't have a communicator, does he? Hati wouldn't have known to come here."

I nearly shrugged again, but remembered the painful sound effects that went with it last time and stopped myself. "Hey. Do me next, will you, Botan?" I requested as she finished up with Kuwabara. Her healing powers were mild, and Genkai's may have been more suited to the task, but I didn't want to have to go through a portal like this. I didn't have to experience it to know it would be hell.

"My goodness! This is just awful," she said, running her hands over my spine, "I'm surprised you aren't flat on your back like Kuwabara over there." He shouted a muffled "Hey!" in protest.

"What can I say. I'm a tough girl," I responded half-jokingly.

"You should be by now," Hiei contributed, "Considering how often you get beaten."

I stuck out my chin and shot him a half-assed glare over my shoulder. "Thank you for your generous support, Hiei," I stated sarcastically. "And taking a beating is different from losing, for your information," I muttered under my breath as I looked away, still sore... in more ways than one.

There was one good thing that had come out of this little misadventure, though: the discovery that I definitely needed to pick up some more fighting skills. And I was determined to find someone other than Hati to teach me.

.

.

.

Which was how I ended up staring pleadingly across the table at Genkai through a screen of steam that rose from her cup of hot tea and smoke from her cigarette.

"You have power, but you lack refinement," she finally stated flatly.

"So please... teach me," I begged, leaning forward. There was no one here besides the two of us, so I didn't mind resorting to such a desperate tactic.

She took another puff of her cigarette and her eyes closed. Slowly, she spoke, "I cannot teach you. You must teach yourself." The finality of the words hit me like a slap in the face, though she had not meant them unkindly.

"But... but why?" I questioned, face falling.

It was a while before she answered: "As another female, I would love to teach you a thing or two, just to remind the boys what a real fighter looks like. Sometimes, I think they forget how strong us women can be...

"But you would get more out of your training if you discovered your powers yourself. I know just enough about the Sleepers to hinder your progress, nothing more. If I show you the few things I know, it will only place limitations on your exploration. You will not develop into your full potential." I was surprised by her deep honesty. She had really thought about it, before dismissing me. And the respect I had for her continued to grow. I was determined to be just like her, when I grew to be an old lady.

I grinned, showing her that I understood and there were no hard feelings. "Well, you know what they say: 'Whatever women do they must do twice as well as men to be thought half as good. Luckily, this is not difficult.'" I quoted wryly.

And a corner of her old, wrinkled mouth lifted around her cigarette.

.

.

.

Yusuke came over sometime around noon-he was skipping school... again. When he went out back to train with Genkai, I discreetly followed. She had denied me as a pupil, but hadn't said a thing about simply watching, after all.

So I settled myself in a shady spot of the porch and glued my eyes to the pair, trying to memorize how they moved. They were fast. My eyes strained to follow them. At first, I couldn't really see much, but after a couple hours I began to notice a few things. I carefully filed away the patterns I saw in the back of my mind for later recall, noting important things like center of balance, stance, the more successful positions for arm blocks, areas that seemed to be more crippling when hit, and on one occasion a useful restraining grip.

After a while, the sparring practice degenerated into a knit-picking analysis of Yusuke's spirit gun technique, where Genkai mostly berated him for not focusing his energy quite right. Yusuke grumbled that he had always done things his way and it had worked out just fine. None of this helped me out much, so I just brushed myself off and left.

Now what? I wondered, as I crossed the dirt area in the front of the temple. Experimentally, I threw a few punches, dodging an invisible opponent as I spun around, trying to imitate the way Yusuke shifted his weight. He had a great fighting presence.

I hopped on the low stone wall that lined the formidable temple steps and surfed down its length. The wind whipped my hair around and stung my face; I grinned at the feeling. I shifted my weight at the last minute to slow my momentum and hopped lightly off the end. Why was it that I could only do cool stuff like that when no one was around to see it? Oh no, they only got to see me fall into dumpsters and get the crap beaten out of me. I shook my head, burying my hands in my pockets as I walked along down the forested hill.

I followed the path Botan and I had taken into town. Hopefully, there would be something interesting to do there. After what seemed like ages, I finally reached the bus stop, only then realizing I had no idea what times it stopped here. I sighed and resigned myself to a wait.

While I was stuck waiting, I might as well practice some more. I closed my eyes and tried to recall some of the things I had stored away earlier.

Yusuke was more of a street fighter, and tended to rely heavily on his punches. Fortunately, this worked well for him, as he packed a nasty wallop. Like this? I wondered, as I tried to curl my fingers in the same way, twisting my arm as I struck out.

I didn't have the muscle to put behind it that Yusuke did, but having a stronger technique should help me out... I was kinda hoping I would grow into it, though to be quite honest, punching didn't really seem to be my thing.

Now, Genkai had a more whole-body technique. I tried out a few of the evasive maneuvers I'd seen her use earlier, bringing my arms up in various blocks as I deflected unseen blows, pushing them away from my core. I lashed out with a circular kick, force concentrated in my heel. It was nearly stunning to find how much more natural legwork felt to me than Yusuke's mysterious art of punching.

And Genkai's moves held another huge contrast to Yusuke's punkish, couldn't-care-less-about-form style. Her moves had a more traditional feel to them; maybe they were based more in martial arts. I didn't know enough about that kind of fighting to tell for sure if it was built off any one type. Maybe that's what I'd do while in town... go look around at the studios. There had to be a teacher there willing to teach me.

I saw the bus roll up in the distance, and stopped my self-training.

.

.

.

The difference was staggering. I peered in through the glass windows of the studio, where an army of schoolchildren clad in their gis were practicing in rows. It seemed that this was a fairly common after-school activity, here in Japan.

I noticed a few black belts, doing their own sparring in the back and I slipped behind a planter to watch them covertly through the leaves. They were impressive. Their moves seemed powerful and backed by a long line of tradition. But these people weren't fighters... they were practitioners of an art. They wouldn't have any answers for me of what to do if a flying man corners you in a dark alley.

I moved on, passing from studio to studio. But there were no masters there... not for me. I got so desperate, I even inquired about Tai Chi, only to learn to my embarrassment and chagrin that it was currently considered more of an exercise than a fighting technique. Though I had to say, those people had an incredible sense of balance.

I sighed and finally gave up. It was time to catch the last bus back, before I ended up having to walk to Genkai's... I didn't think I'd make it if that were the case. There was still time to practice the few tidbits I'd picked up when I got back to the temple before our hunt that night.

.

.

.

I tumbled out from the portal, crashing into a hard object that brought me to a halt. Strangely, despite this, my landing had been much softer than usual. Carpet? I guess Koenma really had listened to my complaint about the concrete.

I sat up blearily, counting the pairs of eyes around me: one, two, three, four, five... Koenma? I realized I was awkwardly leaning up against a desk. What were we doing in his office? I thought we were Nightmare hunting. If he had rerouted me to hear some stupid monologue... I scowled. "What-" I began.

"Friday," Koenma cut me off, seriously, "I'm afraid we have some bad news. Hati has been missing all day... we're afraid one of Tsuki-Yomi's men may have taken him."

"What?" I gasped.

The redhead hummed speculatively, hand on chin, "It was a rather strange move on Rikyu's part to leave so suddenly in the middle of a fight. Perhaps he was only remaining until Tsuki-Yomi got what he was really after."

"You mean," I spluttered, "That whole thing last night... was a diversion?" My pitch rose shrilly to ear-splitting octaves of disbelief. "All the running and throwing and-and _falling_..."

"Oh, I wouldn't say that," he contradicted, "But it seems Tsuki-Yomi was satisfied with accomplishing only half of what he sent his minions to do."

My brow crinkled.

"Friday," Botan interrupted gently, "I realize you and Hati didn't part on the best of terms, but... he really does need you to help get him back."

I looked up at her, my expression of confounded disbelief and puzzlement changing to one of mild surprise. "Of course I'm gonna get him back," I responded loudly, finally picking myself up off the floor.

"Really?" Botan grinned widely.

"Yeah... I still haven't finished telling him off for being such an ass," I replied half-jokingly, crossing my arms behind my head. I saw her faceplant in my peripherals.

"Alright. Let's go, Koenma. Send us wherever the heck we need to go," I said.

"It's not so easy Friday. These things take time, you know, and a lot of effort to trace a missing being's energy signal," Koenma informed me.

"So you're saying you haven't figured out where you need to send us?" I questioned with mild irritation.

"No. I just wanted you to know how hard it was to locate Hati," Koenma replied. Botan wasn't the only one faceplanting this time. "Though..." he continued, "I can't guarantee you'll find him there."

"What the heck are you talking about, Koenma?" I asked with a flat look.

"I found the location where Hati is _most likely_ to be. That doesn't mean he'll be there. To be more precise, it's likely they're keeping him somewhere in a separate dimension of Tsuki-Yomi's creation. So we just have to send you to the place that is closely connected to these other dimensions, and hope you'll find some way to open a portal there." My head spun.

"In other words," I paraphrased, "You still have no idea where Hati actually is."

"That's not entirely fair. I spent most of the day working on this, you know... Just get in there and look around. See if you can find anyone tied to Tsuki-Yomi..." Koenma tried to explain, gave up, sighed, and opened a portal, waving us through.

.

**AN: The in-text quote is by Charlotte Whitton, first female mayor of a major Canadian city (1951-56).**

**Not much to say about this chapter, so I thought I'd give you a short "about the author" rambling if anyone's interested: I learned to read when I was 3 1/2 years old and have been reading ever since-mostly fantasy. Always loved cartoons. Grew up on Disney, but in 8th grade was introduced to anime by a college student who somehow ended up living in my room, and fell in love with it instantly. Discovered Yoshihiro Togashi a year or so later and have been a huge fan of all his works ever since. Discovered fanfiction in 9th grade and have been writing fanfiction since 10th. I also got serious about art around that time, and am considering making my own manga someday on the side. Currently, I am looking forward to entering graduate school in the fall. **

I still have a deviantart account where I will be posting some pictures of characters, etc... to go with this story. Check it out if you want. I'm theanonymouspen . deviantart . com (no spaces)

Thank you for reading :)

**I wrote A LOT a couple of weeks ago, but I'm coming to the end of my prewritten chapters-which I still edit before posting. So if you want me to write faster...**

**Please REVIEW!**


	19. Found

**Yay reviewers! You always put a smile on my face (like this) :]**

**_Bananamush: _The person who can help Friday train _is_ closer than she thinks... and not what you think. Though I'm sure she'll pick up things from all the people close to her at some point in the story. **

**_Guest_: Always glad to make someone laugh. And you may be onto something there, with Friday's mysterious severance from her world... you have a sharp eye, my lovely reviewer. **

**_RemiJVantalaimon:_ Gad you like it. **

_**. . .**_

"_**A**ll warfare is based on deception. Hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must seem inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near ... Appear weak when you are strong, and strong when you are weak**." ― Sun Tzu **_

_**. . .**_

"Hey! I've been here before," I exclaimed, grinning slightly. It reminded me of earlier days-which, come to think of it, hadn't really happened _that_ much earlier-when this whole strange business had just started for me. I stared up at the entrance to that old club I had found on one of my first visits to this little dreamworld, as I had thought of it back then.

"This site must be an easy location to open portals," Kurama murmured thoughtfully, but it was drowned out by Yusuke's comment.

"I knew you were a party girl!" the Spirit Detective announced.

I crossed my arms, "Well, not really... but there is a _nice_ beat going on in there..." I shuffled forward.

"IDs," a large man blocked my way, looking incredibly bored.

"Out of my way, bozo," I told him, hands on hips.

He didn't budge. I sighed.

"Tell ya what. You look real tired. Let's not make this any more of a hassle than it needs to be. We won't tell if you won't tell," I said, winking. It wasn't hard to tell he hated this job.

He stepped aside and looked away, pretending not to notice as we slipped in.

The gang and Botan stopped, but I kept walking onto the dance floor.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Kuwabara questioned.

"Isn't it obvious? I'm going dancing," I said.

"I thought you said you were going to help find Hati!" Botan called indignantly.

"I am... Isn't it easier to find him if we blend in, wallflowers? 'Sides, it's a great song," I kept walking, had a thought, and turned around. "Aren't you coming, Botan?"

"M-me?" she squeaked, pointing at herself.

I grinned at her reluctance. "I thought nobody put a bluenette in the corner. C'mon, let's go. I've got your back," I added, seeing her worried expression.

Tentatively, she let me drag her along as we disappeared into the middle of the mass of swaying bodies. I made sure she didn't get lost in the crowd. We couldn't see the boys past the sea of people, but I was sure they were still hanging out in some corner somewhere... didn't they know that would just get them noticed? I hadn't been kidding about blending in.

I even toned down my moves to mimic the people around me, though it had been too long since I'd had a real dance.

"You're good," Botan said a little jealously, as she tripped over her own feet.

I laughed. "You think this is good, you should see me when I'm serious. But I _can_ give you a few pointers so you stop acting like you have two left feet," I arched an eyebrow.

"Oh, I don't know. I've never been very good at dancing. Especially not in front of so many people," she looked around nervously.

"Don't worry. They're not watching you anyway. And everyone knows how to dance; it's just a matter of letting your mind hand your body the controls for once. You'll know what to do," I said, but arranged her form a little, to give her body a head start in the battle with her brain.

"Oo!" she exclaimed, "This is... kind of fun." She giggled.

"It is, isn't it?" I responded and closed my eyes, feeling the music as I let my feet find their own way. A small sliver of light slipped between my eyelids.

A sharp pain split the back of my skull and I cried out. I bent over, clutching my head.

"What's wrong?" Botan's hands were on my shoulders in an instant.

"Alex... dance..." I gasped out.

"What?" Botan couldn't understand me.

"I just-ah!-remembered... something," I winced and shook my head out a little, grimacing. My head still hung rather limply as I tried to force the memory into words I could convey: "I was... on my way to dance practice... that morning... I remember walking-it was... sunny out... and I was going to meet Alex, but..."

My head throbbed and I watched in my mind's eye as my feet slapped rhythmically on the pavement, the cracks in the sidewalk, the asphalt under my soles.

"I don't think I ever made it," I finished, feeling a trickle of sweat slide past my face.

"Here. You just rest right here. I'll go find you some water to cool you down. You'll feel much better," the reaper rushed off and I watched her blue head bob away through the crowd.

.

.

.

"Oh, good. You're here, Kurama," Botan addressed me as I walked up. She was holding a glass of water and peering on tiptoes into the crowd, trying to find a way back in.

"What are you doing, Botan?" I inquired in a polite tone.

"Something's wrong with Friday," she said with a worried pout, "I was going to take this to her, but... but I don't know how to find her once I get... _in_ _there_." Botan stared out at the mass of bodies with what seemed to be a mild horror. It was understandable. A crowd of humans could occasionally be more vicious than a group of demons, at times even unintentionally so.

I sighed, "I'll take it," I said, resigned. I would have tried searching for the girl's aura, but if there really was one of Tsuki-Yomi's men watching, that would not be wise. Her bright purple head couldn't be too hard to spot, regardless.

Ah, there it was. It was getting farther from me. I frowned. Was she trying to make this difficult? I knew she didn't particularly enjoy my company, but running away from a teammate... what if I'd had something important to tell her about our mission? It was, in short, very irresponsible. Dangerously so.

She walked up to a man sitting on the far side of the room and I gaped, nearly dropping the cup of water as she leaned in, caressing his face as she tried to seduce him. The woman didn't slow her pace, but kept walking toward the alley-side exit. He stood up and followed her.

What _was_ that woman doing, flirting like that with a stranger while in the middle of an important mission? I stared after her, disbelieving. Certainly, she was an American with purple hair, but I had never taken her for _that_ kind of girl. How had we gotten stuck with the only stereotypical wild American for a teammate? I nearly groaned out loud.

It would be best to retrieve the girl, and refocus her on the task at hand.

.

.

.

I closed my eyes and rested, swaying a little to keep from being jostled too much. Something cold splashed across the back of my mind, causing my head to go from throbbing to freezing in an instant. My head shot up, eyes darting around. It was here. I didn't know just what exactly "it" was, but it was something that shouldn't be here. Of that much I was certain.

I caught sight of a head of short, dark brown hair over shifty eyes that scanned the room, set deep in a plain face. He hadn't seen me.

Botan. I looked around, but didn't catch even a glimpse of her shade of blue.

There was no time to alert the team. I couldn't let that man get away. The others would come looking for me, right? I hoped so.

Taking a deep breath, I wove my way over to him. What was I going to do? Start beating the crap out of him? I paused. Probably a more subtle approach would be best... I needed to get him away from these people. I crossed my fingers; please let it work as well as it did in the movies.

I felt rather ridiculous as I attempted to make my voice sound husky as I walked past him, trailing a finger along his jaw: "Come with me, sweetheart." I didn't stop walking, but prayed that he would follow.

He did. We stared at each other in the narrow alleyway. I slowly stepped forward, reaching an arm out to grasp his tie.

I began in what I hoped was a pleasant voice: "Now, perhaps you wouldn't mind explaining," I pulled him closer, "Why you make my skin crawl?" My look darkened.

He grinned, and it literally split his face in two, his human skin falling away.

I jumped back to put some space between us and glanced beyond the transformed man, noticing Kurama standing there for the first time. He looked... oddly relieved, for some reason. I frowned at him.

Turning my attention back to the former man, I noticed with a start the aura pouring off him; my surprise at finding that I could identify it as a demonic aura perhaps surpassed even my shock at discovering he was a demon.

Damn. That meant I couldn't really fight him. But if he was working for Tsuki-Yomi, it wasn't likely to be just for the fun of it. And since Tsuki-Yomi seemed to be more of a stick than carrot type of person, I doubted this demon had heard the wavelengths lecture. Conclusion: he didn't have to know I couldn't do a thing to hurt him.

All I had to do was make myself look convincing, maintaining the illusion that my side of the battle was effortless. Which was harder than it looked. Especially when I had to be careful not to use even a single drop of my energy against him or the charade would be up in an instant.

While I distracted the demon, Kurama would be free to catch it. Seemed like a solid enough plan to me. The demon lunged and I dodged, trying to shift my balance like I had seen Genkai do earlier. I was surprised to find that I actually was considerably faster than this opponent. A small smile crept to my lips.

He closed in, clawed hand raised. I sidestepped. "Is that the best you can do?" I put on an air of confidence-which, I'll be honest, wasn't too hard to do at this point.

The scaly demon spun around, lashing out with a tail. I jumped into the air, evading it, as I touched back down in the same spot. It hadn't given up, and tried to restrain me with extended arms. I leapt back to an area further away, giving me a moment to collect my thoughts.

What the heck was Kurama doing? Why hadn't he caught this demon yet? I turned my head to look at him. He stood leaning up against the doorframe, ankles crossed as he watched unconcernedly. I glared. Come on, Kurama. You're supposedly a master of analysis when it comes to fights. You've gotta realize this is a demon we're dealing with here. And there's no way Mr. Brainiac had already forgotten that I couldn't fight demons. Obviously, the plan would be for him to deal with it. I dodged a swipe distractedly, moving nearer Kurama as I did so.

"Hello," I hissed under my breath at him, shooting a peeved look his way, "A little help, here." I was forced to move again as the demon attacked.

I faced the hideous creature and tried to think of something to keep its attention on me. "I liked the upholstery much better than the stuffing. Tell me, do demons always have such pretty exteriors, and such ugly interiors?" I taunted as Kurama calmly approached it from behind.

It growled its irritation and crouched, but before it could push off the ground, Kurama moved and in an instant had caught both its arms, twisting them behind its back in an unbreakable hold. The demon screeched its fury, but the redhead's face remained impassive.

I sauntered up to it. "We have a few questions, if you don't mind. You can speak, can't you?" I said pleasantly. It spat at me, but I moved and it missed.

"It's in your best interest to be more cooperative than that. You work for Tsuki-Yomi, yes?" I continued blithely.

"Of course," he growled out in a harsh, gravelly voice, "Which is why I'm not telling you anything, human wench!"

I sighed, unable to maintain my pleasant tone as I delivered my warning: "I have a mean streak about a mile wide... and you're standing in it." I glared into his beady eyes.

I carefully reined in my expression to a blank. "Now, why don't you tell me what Tsuki-Yomi has done with my friend?" I demanded, standing directly in front of him, clasping my hands behind my back.

"Or what?" he asked, laughingly. It sounded like he was choking on marbles. I didn't have time for this idiot. We had to find Hati... before it was too late.

I stretched out a claw-like hand and clamped it over his face, staring through my fingers into his wide eyes. There was a prickling in my eyes as they started to glow, and as I opened my mouth to speak that same tingling sensation was there as well, letting light out with each heavy word. "Why don't we find out?" I suggested, eyes crinkling in a hard smile.

His mouth opened and closed in terror, making him look like a fish out of water. "P-please, no! Tsuki-Yomi took him to another dimension!" he supplied helpfully.

"Take me to him," I demanded. Tsuki-Yomi wouldn't leave his henchman sitting on the site of a portal with no way to open it, I figured.

The demon garbled out some strange words, and I felt a dimension open behind me. I walked over to stand beneath it and looked up into its swirling, black depths. I readied myself to jump, but a thought stopped me.

I looked back over my shoulder at the terrified minion. "If you close that portal, my associate here will slit your throat," I informed him. Behind the demon, Kurama frowned, likely annoyed that I had volunteered him for such a task. But it didn't matter; the threat was the whole point. If the portal closed on me, slitting the demon's throat wouldn't do me much good, would it?

I took a breath, and jumped into the oddly rippling surface.

.

.

.

The woman's back disappeared into the curtain of darkness. A splash of dark blood hit the concrete below the portal opening not a moment later. It was followed by the decapitated head of a Nightmare, which rolled to a stop by my captive's feet before being disintegrated in a shimmering light. The demon jumped and cringed.

I felt a headache coming on. That girl... she was surprisingly skilled in the art of deception, and her interrogation had been effective, to say the least. The glow was, admittedly, unnerving.

"Kurama!" a voice exclaimed, interrupting my train of thought. Botan jogged toward me, the strangely beeping electronic device clutched in her hands. Apparently, it had alerted her of trouble at the portal's opening. She had dragged the other three along with her.

"What happened? Where's Friday?" Kuwabara asked, looking around.

I sighed and resigned myself to explaining the little that I could with the creature caught in my grasp listening in. "This is one of Tsuki-Yomi's henchmen. Friday got him to open the portal; she's in there now."

"Hey, isn't that a demon?" Yusuke asked, rubbing his chin.

"Please, Yusuke. There will be time for questions later," I told him meaningfully. He just shrugged, but didn't say anything else to give the game away.

Kuwabara didn't seem to be catching on. "I have my dimension sword. I should go in after her!" he declared.

"No, Kuwabara. We will need you and your sword here to reopen the barrier, should something happen to it," I replied to my overeager teammate. Slowly, the others seemed to settle, resigning themselves to waiting.

It was up to the girl now. I looked back at the portal.

.

.

.

From the moment I had set foot in this dark place, it had been like entering a sea of Nightmares. I had no idea they even existed in this number. At times, there were so many that it felt like I was running on a dark wave composed of heaving and swaying backs as they tried to trap me in their clutches. I couldn't fight them all, so I just ran as fast as I could, dodging as many as possible. When that didn't work... well, let's just say that I'd only been in here a few minutes and already I was spattered with blood.

I just hoped it would wash out. If this kind of trend continued, I wouldn't have any useable clothes left soon.

I ran through a clear area and glanced down at my feet, looking quickly back up ahead. I still wasn't used to the sensation of running on nothing. There was no ground here, no horizon, no sky; just an empty darkness that stretched on and on. Did all of Tsuki-Yomi's dimensions look like this? It couldn't be a very satisfying atmosphere to live in 24/7. My train of thought was disrupted as I hit another wall of Nightmares and tore my way through them.

Time passed. How long, I couldn't tell-there was no perception of time in this place. Eventually, I saw a small form up ahead in the darkness, growling and lunging. It took me a moment to realize it was Hati, looking worse for the wear. He spun and snapped, lashing out at the Nightmares that surrounded him. Had he been fighting all this time alone?

He turned a wild eye toward me as I landed by his side. I noticed then that his dark grey fur was already matted with blood-most of it looked like it didn't belong to him, fortunately. His sides heaved as he panted.

There was no time for a greeting, no breath to waste. We focused on our opponents, and attacked. Breaking free of the cluster, we charged back in the general direction of the exit, Hati following close at my heels.

It was impossible to tell how many Nightmares we faced, how many we cut down. But finally a pinprick of light revealed itself to us. I breathed heavily, legs pumping as we charged side by side toward the portal.

We were so close when a Nightmare blocked the exit. Hati and I didn't bother to stop, but together we ripped through it and kept going, tumbling out onto the concrete of the alley a few feet below. There was a loud crashing sound as the empty metal trash cans we hit in our rough landing went flying.

I scrambled to my feet, exhausted. A giant, clawed arm started coming through the portal above my head. I ducked, and nearly fell over, shaky legs barely supporting my weight. "Close it!" I shouted roughly at the demon still in Kurama's keeping. Hurriedly, he obeyed.

Hati and I panted as we looked at each other. I bent over with my hands on my knees, trying to catch my breath as we stared eye to eye.

"You... came," Hati said between gulps of air.

"Always," I said, trying to catch my breath, "Just... do me... a favor. Try... not to be... such an... ass."

He laughed shakily. I smiled lopsidedly in response.

I straightened with a tired resolve and decided it was time to leave. Tsuki-Yomi's portal's hadn't been as bad as Reikai's to enter, but the whole dark experience was draining... not to mention all the fighting. I was determined to take the bus back to Genkai's rather than use another portal tonight... even if it meant I'd have to climb those godawful stairs. Hopefully I'd be recovered enough to rise to the challenge then.

About to declare my intent to leave, I turned and really saw the others for the first time. They were giving me weird looks. What? Were they going to make fun of me for being exhausted too? Or maybe it was the way I seemed strangely drawn to trashcans... I looked around at the shadows cast by the moonlight, trying to gauge the time. Had I really been gone nearly two hours? I shot them a questioning look.

"Your technique of ripping things apart with your bare hands… It's barbaric, woman," Hiei informed me. Oh. So they were objecting to the blood. It couldn't be that bad... I looked down and winced. Mistake. After that lovely experience, I was nearly as bloodied as Hati. Fortunately, I didn't think this blood was my own either. Whatever. They could all just grow up and get over it.

I thought up a suitable response for Hiei. "I don't suppose you'd be willing to teach me?" I asked the katana master, not really expecting anything. He didn't answer, but the look on his face made his disdain obvious enough. "Hands it is, then," I said and shrugged.

"Right, then... I'll be going now," I informed them all, still slightly out of breath, and started walking.

"W-what about me?" the minion squeaked nervously. I had forgotten all about him.

"They can do with you whatever Reikai normally does with stray demons. It's not really any of my concern," I stated flatly.

"That's cold..." the demon muttered.

"Don't worry," Kurama told his captive bluntly, "You'll likely simply be sent back to the Makai and put on record for dealings with Tsuki-Yomi." The demon's head drooped in relief.

I left the alley, Hati padding alongside me. As tired as I was, he had been at it for far longer. He looked like he was about to drop any minute now, but he didn't complain.

After walking a while, when we had both caught our breath, Hati spoke again: "But still, I'm surprised you came," he muttered.

"You know, Hati. Even when you have your weird, menopausal rampage moments," I told him, fluttering my fingers to illustrate, "I've still got your back."

"Menopause...? I am _not_ a menopausal male wolf," he protested grumpily, eyebrow raised, "Besides, I'm immortal. Where did you ever come up with such a thing?" He acted indignant.

"Well, I figured it was the only good excuse for your bitchiness," I stated with a tired grin, crossing my arms behind my head as I forced myself to keep placing one foot in front of the other. If I stopped now, I didn't think I could go on.

He just grunted, and switched topics. "That was a lot of Nightmares. I'm surprised you're not crawling," Hati observed my strained movements with a sharp eye, looking me up and down.

"Right back at ya," I replied, before assuring him, "I'll be fine. Though I will admit, some shut-eye would be really welcome right about now."

Hati sighed, head lowering, "I'm sorry you can't go home, Friday. Believe me, if there was anything I knew of that would help, I would inform you immediately... Perhaps I was a bit harsh on you these past few days, after all. You are... a good head Sleeper."

I grinned, blushing slightly at the flattery. It was true, we hadn't been on very good terms since the day I'd had an incident with both the demon bear and the rice cooker, but it seemed things were back to normal between us. "Don't mention it," I said.

After what seemed an eternity of plodding along deserted streets, our bus stop came into view. There was already a figure standing beneath it, waiting.

Just then the skies opened up and it started to rain. It was refreshing, feeling the drying blood begin to slowly wash away. But it was too cold in the middle of the night to let ourselves get soaked, and reluctantly, Hati and I kept our pace.

We pulled up alongside what appeared to be an ordinary human male, around my age. I smelled the unmistakable odor of cigarette smoke and glanced at the boy. He stared at me like I had three heads, eyes bugging out of his face. His cigarette dropped from numb lips, embers flickering as it came in contact with the cold, damp ground.

My eyes narrowed and I crossed my arms over my chest. "What are you looking at?" I demanded gruffly, sticking my chin out.

He gave a strangled "eep" and suddenly bolted, running as fast as his long legs could carry him away from Hati and I. Absentmindedly, I ground the lit cigarette into the concrete with my heel, effectively putting it out.

.

**AN: Headache... it's more difficult than you'd think NOT to make a girl who _loves_ dancing and finds herself in a club cliche. I had to cut the boys out of the picture entirely to avoid one of those "And they suddenly realized she was hot" moments. Let me know how I did with that. The part with the demon was also more of a light-hearted, joke fight than usual. I hope that worked out okay anyway. And Hati straightened out! ... Finally. See. I told you guys it would be fine. **

**Alternate chapter quote: **_**"**__**Y**__our mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries!__**" -Monty Python**_

I still have a deviantart account where I will be posting some pictures of characters, etc... to go with this story. Check it out if you want. I'm theanonymouspen . deviantart . com (no spaces)

Thank you for reading :)

**I only have about one prewritten chapter left that still has to be edited. I also like to write a couple chapters ahead to make sure I didn't accidentally screw anything up or leave something important out. In other words, I'm not going to be posting up to the end of my already written material. Sorry. It's a matter of quality, guys. If you want a half-assed story, I'm sure I could churn out a chapter a day. But if you want me to write the best story I can, there's some time and a lot of heart that has to go into it. So if you want me to write faster...**

**Please REVIEW!**


	20. Misconceptions

**Sorry this update is so late! Also, I felt like an idiot when I realized the last chapter had formatting issues with the POV breaks. I've fixed it, so if you were super confused, you might want to read it again. I normally check that, but I was literally running out the door when I hit submit. Sorry again. **

**Excuses why this chapter is late: I was away for a few days with no internet, and while I was gone, I didn't have time to write. I did, however, encounter all sorts of hazards while in the process of moving (1) Crushed thumb while loading boxes in van (2) Ripped out the thorn "rose" bushes without gloves, gaining much respect (and straight-up terror) for Kurama's rose whip in the process (3) Electrocuted by old Christmas lights with the same voltage as a car battery, burning a hole in other thumb (4) Fought an army of giant spiders that had taken up residence in the empty house (5) Relocated a cactus... enough said. In short, forgive me if I'm late. Real life has been quite exciting these past few days. **

**Thank you to my lovely reviewers. I had quite a response this time :]**

**_Guest 1:_ I'm so sorry! The formatting is fixed now. I'm glad you like my story so much, really happy that someone actually reads my long-winded ANs, and thank you for understanding that the next chapters may take some time to be "awesome."**

**_Angel of Randomosity:_ I hope the last chapter changed your opinion of Hati a bit. He's improving! Promise. **

**_Guest 2_: Glad you loved it!**

**_Mikki18:_ Another chapter for you... :]**

_**. . .**_

"_**T**he snow was endless, a heavy blanket on the outdoors; it had a way about it. A beauty. But I knew that, like many things, beauty could be deceiving**." ― Cambria Hebert**_

_**. . .**_

Hati and I simply stood together in silence under the metal awning, awaiting the bus' arrival. The patter of the rain was soothing as it hit the cover over our heads. I stared out into the haze of rain; eventually, bright headlights announced the bus was coming. Stepping up to the curb, I felt the cold droplets of rain slide over my skin and plaster my clothing to my body.

The bus rolled to a halt and the double doors opened. An elderly man wearing the driver's uniform creaked down the stairs to take our bus fare. I had forgotten all about it, but digging around in the depths of my pockets, I found a handful of yen that seemed to come to the right amount. I stretched out a hand, offering the money to him.

He stared at the dark blood crusted around my fingernails and the diluted rivulets that ran off the ends of my hair and through the creases of my clothes. His ancient, brown eyes set deep in sockets ending in wrinkled folds at the corners met my own clear, brown eyes squarely. They flicked to my four-legged companion, also bloodied and wet.

Hati looked rather miserable: ears lowered dejectedly, fur hanging limply on his sides, rainwater dripping off his furred chin.

"Ah... keep it," the old man spoke in a gravelly voice, nodding to my change with a hint of... embarrassment? Nervousness? I couldn't really decide which.

Slowly, I retracted my hand and shrugged. The coins jingled as they settled back in my pocket. He turned and climbed back up the steps. I noted with some surprise how upright he still walked, hands folded behind his back, not even needing to use the handrail; he looked like he had to be at least in his seventies.

I heard Hati vigorously shaking himself off beside me. I glanced at him and followed his lead, hair flying in a messy tangle around my face. My attempt to dry hadn't been as successful as the wolf's, but I comforted myself in knowing he had a lot more practice.

Trudging up the steps, I used the handrail to pull most of my dead weight up, feet barely refusing to cooperate. I made my way to the very back of the empty bus where I sprawled, both arms stretched across the top of the long seat, legs stuck out wide as I slumped back into the padded cushion. Letting my head fall back on top of the bench-seat, I closed my eyes, letting out a deep breath in a near-sigh.

To my discomfort, I realized something wet clung, wrapped around my neck. I clawed the damp purple locks away, feeling like they restricted my breathing. I hoped in vain that I wasn't ruining the seat with the bloody water that dripped off me, but I couldn't really do much about it now.

Vaguely, I looked around for Hati. Too tired to lift my head, I rolled it to the side instead. The wolf was laying in the middle of the aisle, head on paws, silver eyes closed. I watched his sides for a moment to make sure he was still breathing. Satisfied, I tilted my head back again and rested.

.

.

.

Discreetly, I watched the collapsed pair out the back of my rearview mirror. What an odd couple of passengers I had tonight. I couldn't remember ever having seen stranger.

I wondered absently who they were, and what they had been doing to arrive at my stop in such worn conditions. All mysteries aside, that girl had a look about her that would make even _him_ proud... that same spark in her brown eyes.

We rode on in silence, motor humming along as the bus rumbled over the rough pavement. The bus had gone a ways down the road and the girl still hadn't looked up, though she wasn't breathing like someone asleep. I could always tell.

"Where to?" I asked sharply into the silence, making sure she wouldn't miss her destination.

One of her eyes slid open, and she cocked her head so she could look at me. "The last stop," she said in a slow and tired voice.

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"That old bat, Genkai's, temple?" The old man asked in a surprised, but gruff voice. I studied him in silence: his hair was as white as his bushy mustache, which slimmed into slightly lifted points at the ends; his face was worn and wrinkled; his brown eyes gleamed dimly with a hidden depth; the corner of his mouth looked permanently twisted, like he was someone that had grown accustomed to smoking over a lifetime and still wasn't used to going to work without his cigarette; his old hands were knobby but strong as he gripped the wheel, and I detected a hint of muscle still under his loose uniform; he looked like he had been of average height, before old age shrank him. The man still looked a little rough around the edges, though age had softened his appearance.

"Yeah, that's the one," I finally replied, "You know her?"

He chuckled a little under his breath, "Kid, there isn't anyone around who knows diddly squat about fighting who hasn't heard her name."

"Oh," was all I could think of to say as I took this in. I hadn't realized she was famous even among the people here who weren't linked to the supernatural.

"Did she take you in as a pupil? It's been a while since I heard she stopped teaching," the elderly driver wondered aloud.

"No..." I mumbled, "She still isn't taking students."

"But you've managed to hang around anyway," he muttered, shaking his head as the corner of his mouth lifted wryly.

"Yeah... She told me I had to train myself, though," I grumbled a bit, worrying my lip.

After a moment, he broke the strained silence. "I hear she's some kind of psychic these days. Always going on about the supernatural..." he said and fixed his gaze intently on me through the mirror, "What kind of fighting are you doing, anyway, kid?"

How did he...? Oh. The blood. Duh. I nearly smacked myself at the obviousness of it. But I still didn't think I was allowed to tell him the truth, so I settled instead on an answer that wouldn't really answer his question: "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

He just shrugged and fixed his eyes back on the road.

A few minutes later, he seemed to reach some sort of private decision. "Well, stand up then," the old man directed.

A puzzled look came over my face. "What?" I asked.

"You look like you have some fight in you. Stand up, show me what you learned while you were teaching yourself," he said in a deep, gravelly voice. Though the invitation to show him may have sounded grandfatherly, there was nothing about the man that would ever make someone think for a minute that he was the grandfathering type. It was an order, not a request. I would know; I'd gotten pretty good at recognizing the difference from hanging around Hati.

Sighing, I obeyed, pushing myself wearily to my feet.

"Start with your stance," he told me.

Let's see... how did Genkai do it again? Like this? I dropped my center of gravity low, feet apart, hands lifted by my sides. After arranging my position, I looked up into the rearview mirror the old man's eyes were watching me through.

"Keeping low to the ground is good if you're trying to take a blow and not go down. If you want to dodge the hit, loosen up, and stand a little taller," he instructed. I shifted as he spoke, rearranging my stance. "That's it. Keep to your toes," he said and sniffed in a concluding sort of way, causing his mustache to twitch. My look lost none of its puzzlement as he pulled to the side of the road and put the break on.

Pushing himself out of his chair, he got up and walked down the aisle to adjust my blocking hands. Oddly, he didn't even seem to notice the residual blood that still crusted on my hands. At least, if he did, he wasn't bothered by it in the slightest.

Without warning, the old man lashed out quickly, striking for my chest. I dodged. His arm came around again. I blocked, using the energy of his attack in my favor as I twisted it away from my core. It was funny, but just those few adjustments had made everything feel so much more natural; I hardly had to think at all to evade the blows.

He grunted, clearing his throat, and walked again to the front, hands clasped at the small of his back. He sat down, switched gears, and pulled the bus back onto the road.

I collapsed back into my seat and looked at Hati, eyebrow raised questioningly. What on earth was that all about? Hati had been watching this exchange through one open eye, but closed it now and didn't move another muscle as he went back to attempting to achieve his dream of becoming a wolf-skin rug.

"You're welcome to ride the bus whenever you want another lesson," the elderly driver offered, but remembered something, "Ah... you still have to pay the fare-I don't own the bus line-but the lesson will always be free."

"Why are you helping me?" I questioned, too tired to care if I should have asked a less direct question that sounded less rude.

"You look like you have..." he searched for the right words, "A good fighting spirit in you, kid. That's something I can't watch die, just 'cause someone like Genkai won't teach you. She's always been a tough, old bird. Even when she wasn't old." His eyes stayed fixed on the road. The wipers beat rhythmically against the rain hitting the windshield as the headlights illuminated the dancing streams of droplets in the night.

After a moment of consideration, I figured there was no reason I shouldn't take him up on his offer. "I'm Friday," I said, "What's your name?"

"Larry," he rumbled.

"Larry?" I asked, with momentary surprise, "Are you American?" My question was doubtful; the old man looked like he was definitely Asian, but it was strange to have such an English name...

"No," he stated, "But I had a good friend who took my name across the sea with him... so I took his." His eyes reflected in the rearview mirror turned faraway in thought.

"I wonder how he's doing over there..." he spoke quietly to himself.

I answered anyway, feeling I should lend some support rather than sit idly by. "I'm sure he's well," I told him, trying to put some genuine confidence into my voice.

Larry the bus driver snorted, but his eyes lifted at the corners in an amused smile.

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.

.

Hati and I climbed slowly up the long stretch of stair leading to Genkai's temple, huffing and puffing the whole way. Thankfully, the continuous drizzle of rain kept us from overheating. I tilted my face into its cold spray.

When we were almost to the top, a thought struck me: "Hati?" I asked, "Are you staying over at Genkai's tonight?"

"No," he responded as he trudged along; eyes sliding over to look at me.

"Oh. Then why are you coming all this way?" I questioned. If I were him, I definitely would have told me to make this tedious climb by myself.

"You're the only Sleeper we've got. I have to make sure you arrive home safely," he stated with a straight face as we reached the top.

"Awwww... Deep down, you're just a big softie, aren't you?" I joked, grinning, and knelt down to wrap my arms around his neck in a huge, mushy bear-hug.

He patted my back awkwardly with an oversized paw: "I think it's time you go inside and rest. Likely, you'll be recovered by tomorrow, but we should take the night off regardless. You'll need your strength back soon so we can resume fighting the Nightmares."

"Alright, alright..." I straightened and he started to walk away, "By the way, Hati... where _do_ you go when we're not on missions?"

The wolf looked back at me over his shoulder, a silver eye staring into mine: "Hmm... It's a secret," he said and disappeared into the dark shadows of the forest.

"Jerk," I grumbled, crossing my arms, "He just doesn't want me to come over for any surprise visits." My lower lip stuck out in a pout.

Then, suddenly, I didn't even have the energy to feign annoyance; I sighed and let my arms drop. With a heavy head and heavier feet, I crossed the last few paces to Genkai's, dragged myself up onto the porch, slid the doors open, and collapsed on the floor.

I laid like that for a long moment, sprawled across the wooden boards, before rolling slowly over onto my back, cushioning my head on crossed arms. I stared up at the grains of the ceiling and listened to the sound of falling rain. It was surprisingly cold, and I shivered, but couldn't seem to make myself get up to retrieve a blanket.

Stretching out an arm, I pushed the doors open a crack, just enough to see the dark forest as its trees swayed slowly back and forth through the grey curtain of falling rain.

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.

Eventually, the increasing cold forced me to pull the doors shut tightly with numb fingers. It drove me to stand and search for a blanket, which I found in one of Genkai's linen closets. Sitting on the couch, I considered watching some of the movies Botan had brought, but my eyelids were heavy and I probably couldn't focus anyway. I rolled over onto my side on the padded couch-it was much more comfortable than the floor-and wrapped the blanket tighter around me, tucking my frozen toes in.

I didn't really know how much time had passed, but at some point Hati came over to check up on me. I cracked my eyelids open slightly upon his arrival; he looked to be doing much better. He was certainly cleaner, at any rate. Light streamed in through the windows.

He sat so his head was level with my face and mentioned something about a test. The deep drone of his voice was hard to listen to when I was so warm and comfortable in my covers. I did gather that Reikai wasn't able to find anything wrong with me that would keep me from returning to my world. I guess it was good that I was healthy and everything seemed to be normal, but there _must_ have been something wrong, right? Otherwise I'd still be sleeping, not to mention going home.

Hati gave me a look that was a little bit sad, as if he was sorry he didn't have more conclusive results for me. I just closed my eyes. The clicking of his toenails on the wood let me know that he was leaving.

I stayed inside. If it was this cold in here, I hated to think how it felt outside. It got dark, but I didn't go Nightmare hunting. I treated myself to a nice, hot bath in the traditional bathing room instead. It felt good. I tugged a simple, sleeveless shirt over my head and pulled on a pair of baggy pants. As always, I went barefoot around the temple, so I could feel the textured grain of the wood under my feet.

The sun rose again, and I got a call saying the team was coming over for another meeting.

I waited in the entry for them, and hearing their footsteps on the porch went to greet them. Having been indoors for the past day, imagine my surprise when they opened the door and a mass of swirling white greeted me.

"Is that... snow?" I exclaimed, gaze fixed on the world beyond the group in the doorway. I could hardly believe my eyes. The blanket slipped from my stunned grasp. Genkai's familiar temple entrance had been transformed into a winter wonderland!

"It's late this year," Kurama commented. I barely heard him as I felt a somewhat manic grin stretch across my face.

Suddenly, I couldn't hold back any longer. I bolted for the outside. Tripping on the edge of the porch, I fell facedown in the snow. There had to be a good foot or so of it piled up already, I decided, eyeing the white mass that brushed against my lashes and nipped at my nose. I was delighted.

Vaguely, I heard them chuckling behind me, but I didn't have time to worry about that right now... I picked myself up and kept running.

.

.

.

"Jeez, what's the big hurry. You'd think she'd never seen snow before," Yusuke grumbled as the girl recovered from her fall.

She rushed to the center of the clearing, shading her eyes as she looked up into the sky. "Aah! So it really does look like that when it falls... It's brighter than I expected," she mused to herself.

Apparently, she really _had_ never seen snow before, I realized with some surprise. My eyebrows pulled together over green eyes that had turned suddenly thoughtful. Snow was so ordinary... It was a bit of a mystery to me how someone could still be filled with so much wonderment at seeing it. Today's snowfall wasn't even terribly impressive.

She stuck her tongue out and caught one, tossing her head at the strange sensation before romping off through the snow.

"Friday! It's time for the meeting!" Botan called to her. The girl didn't even seem to hear. She jumped and rolled and frolicked through the white ground covering, happier than I could ever recall seeing her before.

"It doesn't seem like Friday will be joining us anytime soon. Why don't you start with training? We'll hold the meeting after," Hati suggested.

Yusuke sighed, "Fine, let's just get it over with. I hate training in the snow." He rubbed cold hands together to warm them.

Botan looked out at the snowy clearing with concern written on her face. "At least put on a jacket before you catch a cold!" the reaper shouted to Friday, bundled in a thick coat of her own.

The girl glanced up with a look of brief puzzlement, seeming to recall that there were others present. The expression quickly shifted; as her eyes fell on Botan, a huge grin brightened her face.

"Botan, Botan!" the girl called, waving her hand as she rushed back toward us, a light of excitement filling her wide, brown eyes. Her bare feet kicked up powdered snow in her wake.

"Come help me build a snowman!" Friday ordered, smiling widely as she grabbed the reaper's wrist and half-dragged the poor ferry girl of the porch before she even had a chance to protest. Botan stumbled off the edge with a muffled shout, but Friday caught her with a strong arm around the back of her collar and pulled her up before her face could make contact with the ground. I was surprised to see the woman had a bit of muscle on her; I couldn't recall seeing it before. Botan trailed behind her as they plunged through the snow, Friday's grip on her arm leaving no room for argument.

They commenced working on their snowman. I realized suddenly that I had never built one before, and the thought caught me off guard. But it wasn't terribly important at the moment, and certainly wouldn't help me in my quest to regain lost skills. I pushed the idle musing roughly away.

Those of us who remained on the porch followed Yusuke to the back to begin our training.

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"A-a-aaaa-aCHOO!" I sneezed, following it up with a sniffle.

"Why don't you join us over here for the meeting, Friday?" Hati looked at me from his position with the group around the table.

"N-no thanks," I replied, teeth chattering, "I think I'll just crawl into a corner and die." I could barely feel my ears. My nose was red. My toes were basically non-existent as far as my nervous system was concerned.

I clutched the blanket Botan had found for me with numb fingers and shuffled away. Plopping into a dark corner of the meeting room, I leaned my head back and closed my eyes as I commenced feeling like hell.

I hate the snow. It was deceptively beautiful and inviting, but was, in fact, much colder than I had realized at the time.

Although I wasn't at the table, I tried listening to parts of the meeting, but the voices kept floating in and out of my conscious awareness. And I have to admit, it was hard enough to hear them in the first place over all the sneezing, coughing, and sniffling that was going on in my corner. As time passed, I sank lower into the blanket until I was no longer even sitting up.

At some point, Botan had come over and offered me some of their steaming hot tea. I tried to drink it, but as I took a sip it felt like molten-hot iron had been poured over my frozen tongue. So I continued laying there, cheek pressed to the cool floor, burnt tongue hanging out. The mug of tea sat abandoned in front of me and I lazily watched the steam rising in mesmerizing tendrils from its surface.

By the time the meeting ended, I was sprawled out on the floor, mentally checking out.

Hati sighed as he came over, probably thinking that it was my own fault for getting sick, but he simply told me to rest and recover so I would be better by tomorrow; I didn't have to join them for the hunt that night. He wasn't going to let me off the hook completely, however: "Two nights in a row..." he said, shaking his head, "Even a Sleeper body can become ill. You must take better care of yourself."

I groaned, but sat up, looking him in the eyes: "Hai, hai. Understood," I said glumly. He just nodded and left.

Botan began poking around in the pile of DVDs. "You said something about a film the other day..." she mused, directed at me, "Which one was it you were talking about?"

I sat up a little straighter, coming to attention. "This one?" she asked, ejecting the matte black disk from the DVD player where I had left it.

Standing with some difficulty, I made my way over to her. "Let me see?" I said curiously, holding out my hand. The bluenette turned the disk over to me.

I took the DVD and broke it into four pieces with loud and satisfying cracks while Botan sat on the floor, gaping up at me.

"W-what was it?" she finally formed the words, disbelieving. I didn't answer, just made my way over to the wastebasket and tossed the now-unreadable parts into its depths.

Genkai's rough voice spoke up, and I jumped in surprise. None of us had seen her enter the room. The old woman's words were calm: "It was just a very unflattering film of our boys here. I'm guessing if you saw it, you wouldn't recognize them yourself."

For a moment, no one spoke. "Ah... You were there, Genkai?" I finally said into the stunned silence, "Well, you don't need to explain anything to me. I know who my enemies are." Clutching the blanket tighter around me, I wandered off to the kitchen to reheat my cold tea, avoiding all the curious gazes that followed me.

I fiddled around in the kitchen, trying not to listen as Genkai answered whatever startled-sounding questions they had for her in the other room. They still weren't done by the time I had finished drinking my tea. I decided to make a new pot to give me an excuse to stay in here.

It was in the middle of boiling when Kurama entered the room. He came to stand beside me, while I stared blankly at the teakettle. After a painfully long moment, he spoke: "It is true, we cut down those demons. But understand they were trying to eliminate us, as well. We didn't have much choice in the matter. The humans, however... they are alive, if you should like to meet them." I wondered how he remained so calm despite the heavy honesty of his words.

I nodded, forcing myself to break free of my immobile stupor. Clearing my throat, I responded, discomfort making my words come out perhaps a little harshly: "I told you, you don't have to explain anything to me, fox-boy." The kettle whistled and I continued to avoid eye-contact as I moved it off the stovetop. My body chose that moment to contribute: cough, hack, wheeze, it said.

"Ah. You saw?" he asked, a note of unease in his voice.

I blinked slowly, curiosity driving me to finally meet his gaze: "Saw what?"

"Nevermind," he said with a small smile. No doubt, he intended for me to just shrug and drop the conversation.

But realization suddenly set in. My hands flew to my mouth as I bit my lip to keep from busting up laughing. "You're kidding," I said as a giggle escaped, "You really are a fox, aren't you? Like, with the whole ears and tail thing." I stifled a short laugh.

"A little fox," I pressed my hands harder to my mouth as I continued to giggle, "That's so... so _cute_!" I gasped out, picturing the adorable little red-furred, green-eyed vulpine in my head. At that point I could no longer contain it. I laughed hysterically until I was forced to sit down, leaning up against the counter. My sides hurt, but I couldn't stop. Finally, my lungs protested with a painful bout of coughing that slowly quieted down and faded into hiccups. Eventually, those too subsided.

He just sighed.

I looked up to see him standing there, hands in pockets as he looked down to where I was sitting. There was a strange look on his face: he seemed slightly puzzled and a bit resigned, but somehow amused simultaneously. I wondered if I had missed something.

I sat, blinking up at him, having finally pulled myself together. The silence stretched on between us, but at least it was of a slightly more comfortable variety than the one right after Genkai had told them the contents of the tape.

He was the one to finally break the silence, switching topics entirely. "If it gets cold enough, you may see some ice on the trees tomorrow morning," he said conversationally.

"I've had enough snow to last a lifetime," I grumped from my position on the floor. Belatedly, I realized that he had been trying to make a friendly gesture. I felt my frozen cheeks heat a little in embarrassment, suddenly ashamed of my conduct the past few minutes, and mumbled, looking away, "But I guess ice should be fine."

"It's a very beautiful phenomenon; you've never seen anything like it," he said in a casual promise. I nodded my acknowledgment, but still couldn't bring myself to meet his eyes. After a moment he silently departed, and I heard the others say their farewells to Genkai as they went with him. The sound of the sliding door reached me as it closed behind them, and they made their way back to the city.

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As promised, it was beautiful. I had thought the snow miraculous, but this made it pale in comparison. Iridescent colors gleamed and shifted with the light as I crunched along on the frosted snow underneath twisting branches of the trees that stretched above, in boots that I had found buried at the bottom of my closet. Apparently, Botan had thought further ahead during our little shopping trip than I had given her credit for.

I huddled deep in my padded, fleece-lined jacket, burying my cold face in the scarf I'd secured around my neck. My sniffles weren't quite gone yet, but the hacking and sneezing had stopped sometime in the middle of the night. I shoved my hands deeper into warm pockets as I continued wandering aimlessly through the trees.

I noticed something out of place in this land of white snow and crystalline ice: a splash of black. I stared up into the tree.

"Hey, Hiei," I greeted, "What are you doing here?" Somehow, I couldn't bring myself to speak too loudly in this quiet place.

He didn't answer from his perch leaning up against the tree trunk, arms crossed in a relaxed way behind his head, one leg bent. But he did open one crimson eye to peer down at me in recognition of my presence.

He continued to stare in silence, so I figured I'd better say something. "Does this kind of thing happen often around here?" I asked, gesturing to the ice-coated trees.

"No," he said shortly.

"Oh. I guess Genkai's place is at a pretty high altitude comparatively... good for this kind of weather," I told myself, and wondered aloud, "So you're here to see it too?" He didn't contradict me, so I just assumed I was right.

Hiei seemed to like snow in a quiet sort of way. My burst of excitement yesterday had been the kind of enjoyment felt by someone who was encountering something novel and mysterious, and had quickly faded once harsh reality set in. But Hiei liked the snow in a way that only came from being familiar with its ways. He knew well how beautiful the snow could be... but he also saw it's other side. The side that was cold, numbing, devastating the life around it. He liked it all the same.

I stood in silence for a moment, under his tree. "Well, I guess I'll be going now," I told him, turning and following the footprints in the snow, headed back the way I'd come. I was looking forward to thawing with a nice, warm cup of tea.

.

**AN: I hope you guys find this chapter as amusing to read as it was to write. Also, it's my birthday! (Yay) So, as a present to you all, I've decided to post my last typed chapter (even though I said I wouldn't). As a present to me, please review! _Pretty please_ :)**

I still have a deviantart account where I will be posting some pictures of characters, etc... to go with this story. Check it out if you want. I'm theanonymouspen . deviantart . com (no spaces)

Thank you for reading :)

**I'm at the end of my written material, so if you want me to write faster...**

**Please REVIEW!**


	21. Lightless

**More drama ensues! Le gasp. A new element is introduced in this chapter. Let me know how you feel about it with a review! (Pleeeeeeaaaase)**

**Thank you all so much for the feedback and birthday wishes. You guys are awesome. Here's another chapter for all you special people. Happy Monday and you're welcome. **

**_Guest1:_ My hands are better and cranking out chapters again. Haha.**

**_XAudra RoseX_: They are warming up to each other, but don't worry. They're not turning to mush.**

**_Guest2_: You'll be seeing more Friday/Kurama interaction as time goes on. Promise.**

**_Angel of Randomosity_: Glad you thought it was cute! :3**

**_bananamush_: It makes me really happy that you enjoyed Larry and that you were able to relate to the snowy bit as well. As for their relationship... it's still under construction.**

_**. . .**_

"_**B**eing a woman is a terribly difficult task, since it consists principally of dealing with men**." - Joseph Conrad**_

_**. . .**_

We were running low on food, so I caught the bus down to the store. Because Genkai's was pretty much out in the middle of nowhere, the bus was empty for a while, and old-man Larry gave me another free lesson, as promised.

It was fun. A little like doing parkour on a bus. He taught me how to jump up into the ceiling and suspend myself there, arms and legs jammed against the sides of the bus.

Then we worked on recovering a lost stance. He would jerk the wheel hard to the side and I would lose my balance, but he made me use my tumble to keep rolling and push myself back up. The best thing about it was that it was never the exact same exercise. It would be valuable to learn improvisation in a real fight.

Finally, another passenger boarded and we were forced to end our training session. The stranger must have thought I was a little wacko with the way I sat sprawled, unable to stop grinning, bangs sticking to my damp forehead as I breathed heavily. What can I say? We _had_ been intensely training for a while. I just did my best not to make eye contact.

After my grocery shopping had been accomplished-with much confusion and awkwardness, might I add-I returned to the bus. The bus emptied as it past the first few city stops. Larry looked at me in the rearview mirror.

"How many pushups can you do, girl?" he asked gruffly.

I shrugged: "I dunno. Thirty or so." It was some unimpressive number, at any rate.

"Alright. Begin," he said.

I got down on my hands and toes in the middle of the aisle, pushing away any thoughts about how unsanitary it probably was. "One, two, three..." I began counting softly to myself.

"What are you doing?" he barked and I slipped, chin hitting the walkway.

"Straighten your back! Arms shoulder width apart. Stomach in," he corrected and I hastened to position myself right, "You have to go lower than that, missy if you want to see any improvement. All the way to the floor. That's it. Now straighten your arms. What are you, a seal? I said _back straight!_ Like a table."

He suddenly jerked to the side of the road and came storming back to where I was currently planking. He rummaged in my groceries, pulled out the three cans of Japanese coffee I'd gotten from a vending machine, and popped open their tops. Larry came over and set them on my back, lining my spine. "Straight. Like a table," he ordered sternly, coming to stand in front of me.

I felt a trickle of nervous sweat roll down my jawline as I carefully lowered myself to the ground. The cans wobbled threateningly. In the end, I could only do nine pushups the way they were supposed to be done. I had spilled all three cans.

I laid collapsed on the floor, arms trembling and back spasming, shirt soaked in coffee.

"That was..." I panted, "All the coffee I had."

"Then go out and buy more tomorrow. You'll get to drink it when you can do a real pushup," he promised in a threatening sort of way, walking back to his seat. "Now do your crunches," he ordered over his shoulder.

I groaned, but flipped over and began. Not all training, it seemed, was fun after all. But I guess all the technique in the world wouldn't do me much good without muscle to put behind it. It seemed no matter what you were required to learn, you could never opt out of the basics.

Crazy old man. Luring me in here with the promise of some exciting lessons only to trick me into working out. The one redeeming factor about the exercises was the legwork, where Larry had to eventually tell me just to move on, seeing that I wasn't going to tire of that anytime soon. Thank you, dance.

I sighed as I finished the long routine he had put me through and rolled over on my side to look up at his deep-set eyes reflected in the mirror. I didn't bother to pick myself up off the floor.

He drove the bus with the same serious air that accompanied all he did. After a minute under my scrutiny, he broke my concentrated stare with a simple question: "What's your last name, girl?"

"Kuronosuke. Friday, Kuronosuke," I responded absently.

"Kuronosuke… huh. You Japanese?" he wondered with the same quality of surprise I'd had when asking if he was American. Names can be so deceiving sometimes.

"I think one of my ancestors might've been," I replied after a moment and shrugged, recalling what Hati had told me about the Sleeper's descendants.

"Which side?" Larry asked. I wondered where the sudden curiosity came from.

"Who knows? Must've been my grandpa's side," I sat up, rubbing the back of my neck and leaning back against the base of the seat, "His name was Sano, but he definitely didn't look Japanese."

"Sano?" Larry repeated, white patches of eyebrow shooting up in shock, "That was my name… once." He stared off into the distance, eyes seeing through the road, a pensive frown plastered on his face.

"Oh," I remembered Larry mentioning his old comrade who had taken his name with him across the seas to America, "Was your friend a tall man with glasses who liked to collect exotic teas?" I asked awkwardly.

He laughed: "The very one."

"Oh… I'm sorry to tell you, but…" I bit my lip, dreading the words that came next, "He passed away a few years ago."

A deep and heavy silence filled the space between us and stretched on and on, limitless.

"I see. Well, it seemed he had a good life, with a good family," Larry finally spoke, voicing his slow musings, "You reminded me of him a bit, when I first saw you. You have the same eyes. Stubborn... but kind."

I rested my head in my hands, thinking. I had never particularly liked my eyes, but now… I didn't think I'd change them for the world.

"He was a good man," I finally contributed, realizing I should reply.

A smile tugged at the corners of Larry's old, worn mouth: "Yeah, he was."

I gave him a moment to wander down memory lane, before deciding to call him back to reality. "Larry, huh? I never knew that was his real name," I chuckled, breaking the tension. Larry just snorted, one side of his mouth still quirked up amusedly.

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.

"What?" the toddler prince shouted, banging his tiny fists down on the desk in front of him. I frowned. Apparently, no one had bothered to report to him the findings of our last mission after we'd finished retrieving Hati.

"This is terrible news! Why didn't anyone contact me sooner?" he glared around accusingly, before forcing himself to calm down as he steepled his hands before his face and continued on in a pensive manner, "It looks like our enemy is getting smarter… using demons. We'd better hope this doesn't continue."

"And what if this _is_ all a new part of their plan?" I asked tentatively, not sure I wanted to know the answer.

Koenma met my eyes squarely, and there was a deep seriousness in his look as he delivered the bad news, "Then your life has just become much more difficult. You'd better hope the boys are around to deal with any demons they send at you. The apparition you faced, Friday, was only an upper D class. Enma forbid they've allied themselves with anything stronger. I'm afraid if you went up against an A-maybe even B class-you wouldn't..." his words trailed off ominously. I gulped.

Somehow, though, the nervousness wasn't overwhelming. It seemed like a far-off reality that I couldn't grasp. At any rate, I wasn't really too concerned, so I just tried to brush it off: "Well, it's not like Tsuki-Yomi has much to threaten them with either, right?" I looked around for confirmation and was met with only uncertain pairs of eyes, "And what can he possibly have to offer that a demon of a higher class would want?"

"You don't know much of demons, woman," Hiei informed me, crimson eyes peering into mine, as he tried to rid me of any hopeful delusions, "There are scores of apparitions who would aid Tsuki-Yomi simply for the pleasure of watching this pathetic human world of yours burn."

I puffed my cheeks out, pouting, as I looked away, muttering under my breath, "You would know about that, wouldn't you, Hiei?"

My eyes flicked back in time to see him relax his clenched teeth and shrug, the angry tilt of his eyebrows smoothing. Apparently I had ruffled his feathers a bit. Hiei crossed his arms and turned his head away as he closed his eyes, determined to ignore everything that transpired for the duration of the meeting.

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.

Koenma split the team in two, sending Kurama and Hiei out to comb the area for demons while Yusuke, Kuwabara, and I tracked down Nightmares. The city was cold, but the area wasn't very receptive to snow, so thankfully we were spared the frigid ground covering.

Our current job here wasn't too hard. All in a night's work. That is, until _he_ showed up.

"Rikyu..." I said and leveled a sharp glare at his hovering form, "Here for more pleasantries?" I mocked, thinking of the violent peace offering he had come bearing the last time.

"Not quite. This time I'm simply here to put an end to your interference, last of the Sleepers," he addressed me, eyes twinkling with sinister humor.

I dropped into a fighting stance the way Larry had taught me, hands held ready at my sides.

A shout rang out from the shadows: "Spirit gun!" Yusuke had snuck up from the side and was now pointing his deadly finger straight at Rikyu's head.

But before the blue blast of energy could hit Rikyu, a dark, armored form moved in swiftly to block. The Nightmare's skin sizzled from the impact, smoking slightly, but it appeared to be essentially unharmed.

"Go," Rikyu commanded holding out a hand imperiously, and the Nightmares crept from around the corners of the buildings, stalking toward Yusuke in a loose circle.

Kuwabara rushed in with a battle cry, brandishing his sword, hacking and slicing his way to the center. The boys put their backs together defensively. Kuwabara used a clever technique to make his dimension sword wrap around in a the circle, incapacitating the Nightmares that had been closing in.

"Nuh-uh-uh. We can't have you interfering so, human boy," Rikyu admonished, fixing his gaze on Kuwabara. Menacingly, he crossed the two short blades as they appeared in his hands, gathering his sickly-looking energy at their intersect. He snapped his arms out to the sides, and I heard the scrape of metal on metal as the swords pulled apart.

The glow was different than the ones he had produced while fighting me before. Those had appeared in the form of spheres. This time, the energy shot through the air in bands; they wrapped themselves tightly around Kuwabara, head to toe, crushing his arms to his sides and sealing his legs together. The carrot top cried out as he was brought to his knees, finally toppling over completely.

"Kuwabara!" his punk friend called from the carrot top's side, dropping his firing stance.

The glow of the bands had faded, but Kuwabara still lay on the ground, unable to move.

"I'll be... fine... Urameshi. Just... go... get others," Kuwabara managed to grind out from between clenched teeth. It didn't seem like Kuwabara could move even his jaw in this tight grip.

Yusuke pulled out his communicator as Rikyu stared fixedly at me. I fidgeted under his gaze, shifting my balance, prepared to dodge an attack. But he just hovered there.

The spirit detective's rough shout made me jump a little: "Low battery! Whaddaya mean, low battery? C'mon!" Apparently, his communicator wasn't working. With an angry sigh, I heard him rush off to find the others on foot, muttering curses under his breath.

My eyes slid to the side, catching Yusuke's back as it disappeared around the corner. Suddenly, Rikyu closed in, hardly more than a blur. I almost missed him in my brief moment of distraction. I deflected his forward arm and the deadly blade slid past my shoulder. He thrust the other blade toward me. I ducked and jumped back, shoes skidding on the pavement as friction brought me to a halt.

As I wove my way through his barrage of attacks, I realized something. This time, he hadn't yet hit me. Not even once. It seemed Larry's training was already paying off. I smirked, and went on the offensive.

When he lunged, I dodged and followed it up with a jab of my own. I twisted my punch the way I had watched Yusuke do it. The blow made contact as I aimed for his shoulder, trying to knock him to the side and make him lose his balance.

Rikyu looked momentarily surprised, having probably expected me to continue running about and dodging. But apart from the change of expression on his face-an incremental lifting of his eyebrows-not much happened.

A corner of my mouth tugged down in a disbelieving grimace. No way. It had been a solid blow. My knuckles had certainly felt it. What was he made of? Stone?

I tried again. And again. Maybe a fourth time? He settled back into a smug stance, arms open, not even bothering to block. He even dismissed his swords. Rikyu's eyes gleamed and he grinned, watching my shocked face with amusement. It was like fighting a brick wall. I think my knuckles may have bruised. What the hell was I supposed to do now?

"This is ridiculous!" I shouted in frustration, bringing up my leg in a strong arc.

He caught it before it made contact. "Oops. Better be careful with that now..." he said genially, and with a tug had me dangling upside down before him. I was starting to get really tired of that position.

"Put. Me. Down!" I ordered, struggling against his grip.

"If you insist," he said playfully and let go. I fell to the ground with a thump in an undignified heap, thankful that he was barely levitating. Bare feet only inches from the ground, it was like he hovered just to flaunt the fact that he could. I gritted my teeth, righting myself to a proper sitting position.

Aiming for the side of his kneecap-that was a weaker spot, right?-I swung my arm out in an angry arc. Rikyu shifted back ever so slightly. I missed and my momentum flung me forward, chin making contact with the ground.

So... embarrassing. I heard Rikyu chuckle. I kept my fingers crossed Kuwabara wouldn't judge me. After all, at least I wasn't hopelessly bound up like he was... yet. I thanked my lucky stars the others weren't here to see me make a fool of myself.

Recovering as quickly as I could, I scrambled to my feet. With a frustrated cry I lunged forward, mixing some kicks in with my punches. They didn't do anything. Why? Why!

"Gah!" I cried out in exasperation, really putting my back into it. Where was the light that had helped me drive him back before? It wasn't there! I couldn't even feel it anywhere inside me. I was just... plain... lightless... ineffective... _weak._

"Come _on!_" I shouted, begging the light to appear with this last punch as I aimed for the center of his chest.

He caught my fist in a large hand, twisting my arm around as he used his hold to toss me away from him, finally returning to the offensive. I bounced across the concrete. Steadying myself with an arm, I pushed my body up, the growing feeling of helplessness holding me back, asking me what the point was in continuing on. Somehow I didn't feel as if I could move another step, though I wasn't particularly injured. I wanted to just bury my head in my hands, close my eyes, and give up... That was it!

I looked up from my position on the ground to see Rikyu a few feet in front and above me. "Damn. Well, alright. I give up," I stated simply, brushing dust off my sleeve in a nonchalant manner.

He quirked an eyebrow, eyes searching my face skeptically: "I don't trust you." But he floated closer nonetheless.

When he was directly in front of me I spoke up again. "Good. You shouldn't," I informed him. I pushed myself up off the ground with more strength than I had realized I possessed as I rammed into Rikyu, tackling him to the ground. Sitting on top of his bare chest, I used my own weight to pin him down.

My hands went around his neck, and his form shifted. "Whatever you did to Kuwabara, I want it undone right now!" I demanded to Dark Rikyu, whose disturbing yellow eyes were wide with surprise. His gruesome form nearly caused me to drop my hold and run far away... screaming.

I felt the guttural chuckle under my fingers more than I heard it. Despite my threats and my chokehold around his neck, he smiled, wide and sickly. His eyes took on a strangely excited look as he replied calmly: "That boy was trouble... so you see, I _had_ to bind him up."

"I don't care about what you think you _had_ to do! Just undo it already!" I shouted louder, trying to intensify my threat which, to my chagrin, wasn't working out as well as I'd hoped. This, too, backfired as I realized the sick bastard was enjoying himself more than ever.

A laugh bubbled up through his throat, and I tightened my grip menacingly. His laughter died down, but the cocky, condescending smile he wore didn't fade.

I ground my teeth together and growled out, "I'm warning you! You'd better let him go right now or I'll-"

I felt something slide up the outside of my thigh and froze, a stunned look on my face. His hand was on my leg. Why was his hand on my leg? His roaming appendage reached the top of my thigh and stopped. He squeezed, and I felt sharp nails dig into the tender flesh beneath them.

Yelping, I jumped up off of Dark Rikyu like he had just burned me. My legs trembled, knees wobbling in what I thought might be nervousness. But for some reason, I didn't feel nervous just now. Only mad. The anger manifested itself as it burst forth from my lungs loudly.

"This is a proper fight, dammit. Stop trying to feel me up! Just 'cause I'm a girl doesn't mean you don't have to take this seriously!" I shouted down at him, one hand clenched in a fist before me, the other gesturing severely at my side.

"I never take anything too seriously," he replied, cocking his head with a smirk as he rose effortlessly to hover again in the air.

He appeared before me, too close for comfort. "You need to loosen up," Rikyu informed me, gripping my covered biceps tightly as he pulled me toward him. There was a strange gleam in his eyes that I didn't particularly like.

Whatever he was about to do, I was sure he hadn't been listening to my demand to take this fight seriously.

Suddenly, I felt the light well up inside me as it poured out through my eyes. Fueled by rage and desperation, I brought my arms up to his chest and shoved him roughly away. He went, landing against one of the walls that formed a crater upon impact. The resulting rubble buried Rikyu completely.

That was strange. This time, no light had come out of my hands, but it seemed that the energy I felt build up inside me was enough to lend me some strength. I flexed my fingers experimentally, studying them.

The pile of broken concrete shifted and the dusky blue of Rikyu's long head of hair rose up from it. He cracked his neck, but was still grinning, much to my vexation.

It looked like this inner strength was enough to push him around, but it was nothing like the blast I had shot off at him to end our first meeting. At that time... there was real fear in his eyes. He hadn't been smiling.

But now, his laughing face caused mine to darken. Was there nothing I could do to ruin his cheerful mood? It was seriously getting on my nerves.

"Don't touch me again," I growled out, eyes flashing brightly for a brief instant, "Or I will remove your fingers one by one."

"Can't we work this out, love?" Rikyu replied smoothly, floating cross-legged up from the rubble.

"I don't know how you came by that delusion, but you'd better get it out of your head this instant... before I have to forcefully remove the thought," I glared at him and cracked my knuckles threateningly.

"I'd greatly enjoy... seeing you try," he purred, floating closer. His eyes narrowed, practically glowing with pleasure. I raised my fists in a guard position.

Footsteps. I heard the boys come running up before I saw them. Yusuke skidded around the corner, followed closely by Hiei and Kurama. The tight creases around my eyes that I hadn't noticed before melted from relief.

It was short-lived. Rikyu took advantage of my momentary distraction. He caught me with an arm snaking around my clothed waist. The emotions flashed across my guarded face: first surprise, then anger.

I didn't know what to do. Any attempts to push him away would be futile, I knew, and I didn't want to turn him to Dark Rikyu when he was only inches from me. _That_ form was terrifying, haunting, and it lingered in my mind long after Rikyu himself was gone. Those yellow pits of eyes...

I shoved that thought away, unconsciously shrinking back from Rikyu.

His eyes roved over my features. "Kawaii..." his smile grew wider, more self-assured, "I think I might just take you with me. What would you say to that, Sleeper? I'm sure we could... resolve... our differences."

Rikyu leaned in, making a kissy face. I jerked my head back and smacked him, hard, raking my fingernails across his vulnerable cheek.

He leaned back, but after a ponderous moment-where he rubbed his hand over his cheek, examining it-he smiled condescendingly.

"And so the little kitten thinks to injure the lion with her claws," Rikyu shook his head amusedly, mockingly.

"Why you..." my fist shook in barely-contained rage.

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**AN: For anyone who doesn't know, "kawaii" just means "cute" in Japanese. Sorry, I try to stick with English for the sake of different levels of understanding and good writing etiquette, but "cute" just sounded dumb when spoken by a dark and sinister enemy. You understand.**

**Oh yeah. One other thing. I posted a short drabble about the Forlorn Hope. I would really appreciate it if anyone read it and let me know what they thought. It was just a concept that popped into my head one day...**

I still have a deviantart account where I will be posting some pictures of characters, etc... to go with this story. Check it out if you want. I'm theanonymouspen . deviantart . com (no spaces)

Thank you for reading :)

**Reviews make me write faster...**

**Please REVIEW!**


	22. Pawn

**Thank you, reviewers! It always makes me happy to receive your feedback.**

**_Guest1:_ I'm not sure if I caused you (and others) some confusion, but I'll clarify anyway. The minion Friday faced while rescuing Hati was a demon. Rikyu isn't a demon. He's not a Sleeper, like Friday, but they are on the same wavelength, so to speak.**

**_bananamush:_ Friday's grandpa _does_ have a backstory. All will be revealed in due time, my faithful reviewer... And not that you meant it in that way, but they took each others names as friends (it's still kind of weird, but they were good friends who didn't want to forget about each other). Obviously, gramps went on to get married, have children and grandchildren, and one of them was Friday. And it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside that you thought Rikyu was funny. **

**_Angel of Randomosity:_ Okay... never be caught alone with that guy. (Yes, I know I'm annoying. Sorry, I just couldn't help myself.)**

_**. . .**_

"_**F**orce and fraud are in war the two cardinal virtues**." ― Thomas Hobbes**_

_. . ._

We rounded the corner and caught sight of a familiar purple head of hair.

Her brown eyes darted to us, and while she wasn't concentrating, the commander Rikyu wrapped an arm around her waist and drew her toward him. I couldn't see her face, but he was smiling.

Strangely, the girl didn't look to be in any immediate danger, despite her proximity to her opponent.

A muffled plea for help drew my eyes away from the scene, and I looked down. Kuwabara was laying on the ground before us; he appeared completely immobilized.

I knelt down and studied him briefly. Looking up, my eyes met familiar red ones.

"Hiei, your Jagan may be able to break the bind on Kuwabara," I informed him apologetically, knowing he wouldn't be eager to help the human boy.

Nevertheless, the Jagan master removed the bandana from his forehead, clutching the fluttering white strip in his fist as the glowing, purple eye opened below his hairline.

Distractedly, he stared suddenly over his shoulder at Rikyu, lip curling in disdain at whatever dark thoughts the commander was having.

I looked questioningly at the Jagan master. "Don't let him leave with the girl," was all Hiei volunteered before turning with a resigned frown to help his least-liked teammate.

The binds that held Kuwabara became visible as they glowed with a bright, electric light, fighting the Jagan.

"Yusuke," I called, pulling his gaze away from the interlocked pair in the middle of the street. In a low voice, I explained the plan to him. Yusuke nodded, brown eyes looking determined.

Discretely, the two of us began to circle the opposing pair.

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.

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"What do you think this is? Some kind of game?" I burst out, unable to hold it in any longer. His arm was uncomfortably tight around my waist, crushing our bones together. I got a sinking feeling that I was going to be covered in bruises by the morning.

"Hai. All of this is just a game. And you are simply an exciting toy that has entered the game for my own amusement. The sooner you accept that, the better," he leaned in, tracing the line of my jaw with a long finger as he switched forms, "That's why you should just give in and come with me now... Toys are no fun to play with once they're broken." Dark Rikyu's hot breath blew into my face, punctuating each sinister word.

Chills shot up my spine. I ground my teeth together so hard that I heard something crack.

"Like hell I will!" I shouted into his face. A burst of light shone out through my eyes as I reached out and threw Rikyu far, far away into the air, breaking his hold on me in the process. My eyes narrowed and my lips pursed angrily as I watched him dwindle down to a small speck in the distance.

"Damn, he got away... creep" I grumbled, crossing my arms as the glow in my eyes faded. The irritation, however, did not.

"I'll say. You just about provided him with his own getaway car," Yusuke complained loudly. Belatedly, I noticed that he and Kurama had been surrounding Rikyu in an attempt to catch him.

I shot Yusuke a glare anyway. I wouldn't have had to throw Rikyu if he hadn't been such a perverted bastard. But thinking about that just caused the ire to rise inside me.

I started to go after him. Out of nowhere, Hati appeared; I had barely taken a step when the wolf locked his teeth around the fabric of my loose pant leg. My temples pounded in a growing headache.

"Just let him go, Friday. Besides, he's long gone by now," Hati instructed around a mouthful of cloth. Silver eyes looked firmly up at me. Surprise widened my own eyes briefly before they narrowed again in irritation.

I hesitated on the brink. My eyes shut closed tightly. What Rikyu had said earlier still stung. I really did feel like some kind of pawn... if not Rikyu's, then Reikai's.

Finally, I shifted my balance, settling back to stand straight. Slowly, Hati released his hold, teeth leaving indents in the fabric.

I opened my eyes to stare harshly down into his: "Don't tell me what to do," I growled at him under my breath, but marched back to the portal Hati had brought with him nonetheless.

"Spirit world isn't really so different from Rikyu in that regard... I'm getting tired of taking orders," I muttered under my breath as an afterthought, crossing the rough pavement swiftly.

Hiei was doing something to Kuwabara that involved a lot of jumping arcs of light, and the carrot top looked like he was slowly-and painfully-regaining the use of his body from it.

The wolf spoke up from behind me: "You're a loose cannon, Friday." Hati's silver eyes examined me, and I stopped to peer back over my shoulder at him.

"True," I informed him, "But I'm the only cannon you've got."

Seeing his worried look, I took pity on him: "Don't worry. I won't go rogue on you like that Sensui character. I don't care much for the existential problems of good and evil... There's no way I could ever figure something like that out anyway, after millennia of much more qualified people have tried and failed to quite grasp it.

My eyes narrowed in vindictive thought. "Besides, I'm currently very interested in teaching Tsuki-Yomi and his minions that they won't get away without taking me seriously," a razor-sharp smile split my features as I looked away and stepped boldly into the portal. A hard gleam caught my eyes as it pulled me in and twisted me around. That Rikyu... someday he would learn that I wasn't just a toy caught up in his game. But when that day came, it would be too late.

On the other end of the portal, I landed on my feet for the first time. My insides still lurched as my surroundings ground to a halt around me.

.

.

.

The man with dusk-blue hair and yellow eyes stared into a mirror that stood alone without any visible means of support, situated in a vast expanse of grey shadows. Everything was murky there, right down to the bulky shapes of what appeared to be crumbling blocks of grey stone that rose from the gloom. Sleek black tiles stretched out in all directions as far as the eye could see.

He sat idly in front of the silver mirror, legs crossed as he made firm contact with the ground. The man supported his arm on a knee and propped his head up in his hand. Slim, navy eyebrows knit together over perturbed, yellow eyes. His fingers played with a stray chunk of rubble before him, absently.

Why had she reacted so violently? It was that face, wasn't it? Rikyu thought as he pictured his darker form in his mind's eye with a frown. That hideous face...

His gaze drew back to the mirror, and his angelic form stared back at him. After a moment of concentration, he saw a black shirt, long-sleeved, appear on his reflection, stretching up so far it even covered his throat. A wisp of a smile caught his features as he recalled the feel of her soft fingers on his neck. Even her threats gave him no cause for concern.

Suddenly, he frowned, remembering something. He focused his mind and almost immediately white gloves appeared, stretching up his forearms. Matching strips of fabric wound down his calves, beginning just below the knee where his billowing pant legs ended, and securing themselves around his ankles. He left his feet bare.

As an afterthought, the shirt parted around the small, silver pendant embedded in his chest.

Rikyu stood and looked down, examining his handiwork without the lens of the mirror. He smiled in satisfaction.

"What... are you doing?" a masculine voice spoke from the shadows. Rikyu just looked over his shoulder at the source and smiled, yellow eyes crinkling up at the corners.

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.

.

The pits of yellow hellfire stared out at me from a skeletal face of pitch. My eyes snapped open and I shuddered. I stared up at the ceiling of my room in the temple. Apparently, I wouldn't be getting much of a chance to rest after the night's escapades. Whenever I closed my eyes, that terrible visage was right there, waiting for me.

But as frightening as Dark Rikyu's appearance was, his personality was more repulsive still.

I sighed, and gave up on resting. By the dim light filtering in through the screens to the outside, I could tell the morning was coming soon anyway.

I pushed myself up off the wooden boards, noting wryly the unused mattress pushed up against the wall. What was the point? I couldn't really sleep anyway.

Looking for something to do, I made my way over to the pile of yesterday's dirty clothes I'd left on the ground. I started to toss them on top of my laundry basket, but it was already full. A sock slid off the mound of clothing to the floor. Sighing, I grabbed the article of clothing and shoved it deep into the basket, before picking it all up and balancing it on a hip.

I left the room and wandered down the hallway in the direction of the washing machine, starting a load.

As I stood in the room with the hum of the machine, wondering what to do, I figured I'd be a good guest and check up on Genkai.

I remembered finding her room at the other end of the temple while cleaning. It took me a while to get to it.

I rapped on her door with a knuckle before sliding it open and peering inside. "I'm doing laundry, Genkai. Need anything washed?" I called out.

The elderly psychic was sitting in the middle of the floor, eyes closed. She just grunted. I assumed she wouldn't mind, and dragged her hamper out of the room, smiling a little at her gruffness. I was beginning to be very fond of her and all her mannerisms.

.

.

.

While I waited, I dug around in some of the old closets nearby. Luck must have been with me because it wasn't long before I found an old radio. It was dusty and looked like it hadn't been used in years. I wondered if it worked.

I smiled as I adjusted the knob and music poured through the speakers. It took me a while of fiddling around with it before I was finally able to narrow it down to a single station playing at once. These old radios could be as annoying as heck, but at this point, I was so glad to have one again that I didn't really mind.

Slowly, I browsed through the stations, familiarizing myself with the local wavelengths. As I sat waiting for the laundry to be done, I listened to a wide variety of songs; most of these Japanese ones I'd never heard, but I liked all kinds of music, so I enjoyed myself regardless.

I maneuvered my way carefully through the static until I came to a station that played hip hop. In all honesty, the genre wasn't my favorite to listen to, but it sure had the best beat. My foot tapped along.

Brushing my dusty hands off on my pants as I stood, I decided that I might as well practice while I was here. No sense in getting rusty.

I couldn't practice the routines to these unfamiliar tunes, so I just let myself go with the flow as waves of sound washed over me. Finally, it was time for a real dance again. Hip hop, breakdance, I just followed wherever the music moved me as I lost myself in the beat.

The only time I stopped was when the washer beeped annoyingly and I had to switch the clothes. Slamming the dryer door shut with a foot, I jumped right back into the rhythm.

Slowly expanding my movements, I found that this body was capable of doing considerably more than I'd ever been able to do before. Everything was easier somehow. There was no sense of restraint, and I supposed it was a good thing.

I spun around on the floor and lifted myself up on a hand, arcing my back as I held myself there. I smiled, pleased at my improved balance.

A flash of red caught my eye and I turned my head. How long had _he_ been standing there. My lip stuck out in a pensive pout. What did he want? He was interrupting my dance.

"Can I help you?" I asked finally with a frown, bringing my other hand down to support me as I balanced in a handstand, not willing to entirely give up my fun.

"I came to inform you that it is time for the training," he stated.

"Training?" I asked, frown turning puzzled.

"Don't tell me you forgot," he said.

"I don't think anyone ever mentioned it to me," I replied, annoyed, blowing a strand of hair out of my face. That was strange; I'd never been invited to train with the boys before. I wondered what had changed.

We continued to stare at each other. Me upside down, him right side up. My mind wandered. Wouldn't it be a strange world if we all walked on the ceiling instead? Everything would look quite different...

"What are you doing?" he interrupted after a long moment, a pensive frown adorning his face.

"Things look different upside down. You can get a new perspective... See, now you're smiling," I told him, which only made his "smile" deepen.

He sighed. "It's time," he informed me, trying to get me back on track.

"Hai, hai," I said, letting myself tumble forward and popping back up to standing.

"You're no fun," I grumbled, putting the radio away. A very worn look adorned his features as he stared at me in mild exasperation.

"Aren't you coming?" I asked him as I walked away, arms crossed behind my head, knowing it would irritate the redhead to no end if I pretended he was the one we were waiting on.

His light footsteps followed close at my heels. I could almost imagine him shaking his head.

As we entered the living room, I spotted the other three boys waiting impatiently by the door, jackets on to ward against the cold.

That reminded me... I had forgotten it was still snowing outside. I went to fetch my own coat from the closet in the entry.

I passed by Genkai and Botan, sitting on the couch watching some TV show I didn't recognize. A commercial came on, and a chibi santa popped onto the middle of the screen "ho ho ho"-ing.

Frowning as I pulled on my jacket, I remembered something that had been nagging at the back of my mind for some time now.

"Hey," I addressed no one in particular, "Where are all the lights and decorations and stuff?"

"Whaddaya mean?" Kuwabara asked, puzzled. Botan turned her own quizzical look toward me.

I gestured with my hands as I explained. "You know, the Christmas decorations. The lights, the trees, the creepy plastic Santas... In America all the stores have something up. It's the biggest sales time of the year. But I haven't seen a single scrap of tinsel or anything since I've been here... and Christmas is just a few days away," I trailed off thoughtfully.

"Oh, that's right you wouldn't know..." Botan muttered to herself, chin in hand.

"Know what?" I pouted, irritated with my own cultural ignorance.

"Well... we don't really _have_ Christmas in Japan," Botan broke the bad news to me reluctantly.

"WHAT?" I gaped, mouth hanging wide open, eyes bulging.

"What do you mean you _don't have_ Christmas?" I demanded, frowning, "The Japanese calendar still has a December 25th on it, right?"

"Of course," Kurama cut in, smoothly. My eyes snapped to his calm face, "What Botan means is that the Japanese don't celebrate Christmas as a national holiday. New Year's is the main festivity at this time of year."

"No way..." I muttered, shocked. No Christmas. So far, there had been differences, to be sure, but this... Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore-so to speak. There would be no fooling myself that I was home this holiday season.

"But if you want," Botan hastened to pop over the couch, running to me with a finger held in the air, "We can find a way to celebrate Christmas with you!" She smiled, very pleased with her idea.

"That's okay," I mumbled, deflated, "You don't need to trouble yourself."

Botan's face developed a worried crease between her brows.

I zipped up my fleece-lined jacket. "Everyone ready?" I asked the boys, trying to hide my deep disappointment as best I could.

"We were waiting for you," Hiei stated flatly.

I just sighed and pushed open the door, stepping out into the cold chill of winter.

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.

.

"I can't fight her! In case you've forgotten, Urameshi, Friday's still a girl!" Kuwabara complained loudly as the two of them faced me. I was already on the testy side after discovering Christmas wouldn't be happening this year, and to have Kuwabara complaining about fighting me just 'cause I was the wrong gender... needless to say, it annoyed me to no end.

Already, Hiei and Kurama had nonverbally opted out of training me when they moved to the clearing next to us to fight amongst themselves. Idly, I saw a black blur flash by through the trees, followed closely by a green whip that sliced down in his wake.

"I told you, we're not really fighting her, Kuwabaka. We're _training_. We won't even use our energy. Just her physical strength against ours. She won't get hurt," Yusuke shouted back at Kuwabara's loud protests. Physical strength alone, huh... sounded hard enough. Especially when it was two on one. I was not looking forward to this.

"Fine. But if she gets hurt we're stopping right away," Kuwabara conceded.

"_Alright_, Kuwabara," Yusuke said, exasperated. He pounded a fist into his hand, "Let's start this thing.

He ran in, throwing a punch. I dodged. That was irritating. He was moving quickly, but I knew for a fact he was faster than that. It didn't look like he was even planning on breaking a sweat.

I threw an elbow at the back of his neck as he missed and stumbled past. He got out of the way of my attack easily.

Kuwabara came up behind me with a strangled cry, trying to wrap his arms around me in a hold. I broke free almost instantly. He wasn't even trying! It was like he was just playing along for Yusuke's sake.

I scowled and stepped back, noticing that the other fighting pair had stopped to watch. Hiei leaned up against a tree; Kurama's hands were shoved in his pockets. My face heated as I realized they were analyzing me.

"Gotcha!" Yusuke took advantage of my distraction, ramming into my back. I skidded forward, eating snow as my mouth opened in a surprised yelp.

I sprang back up as fast as I could, shaking the white powder from my hair.

Kuwabara tried to lunge in from the side again and catch me.

"No you don't!" I told him and jumped straight up in the air, catching hold of a tree branch overhead.

He ran by beneath me. I swung my legs out and dropped onto his shoulder blades, knocking him down.

Urameshi advanced before I could blink, taking a swing at me. I dodged, but felt his fist scrape my shirt. It was a narrow miss.

"Oof!" the muffled protest came from below. We looked down in surprise.

Yusuke had stepped on Kuwabara's head, not even noticing his teammate lying there. I looked the spirit detective in open disbelief. Really?

"Get off my head, Urameshi!" Kuwabara shouted through a mouthful of show when Yusuke still didn't move.

He removed his foot and Kuwabara shot up out of the snow, angrily. "I thought we were supposed to be fighting _her!_" he exclaimed, pointing. I just stood there with a dumb look on my face as I watched the two.

"Yeah. We were! So what the hell were you doing sleeping on the job, Kuwabara?" Yusuke yelled back. And so the shouting match continued.

Crossing my arms, I observed the scene before me. They were still bickering. I decided to jump-start the fight.

I tackled Yusuke from behind, bringing him to the ground as I pulled on his perfectly gelled hair, messing it up completely.

"Hey, no fair! You can't do that!" Yusuke protested my cat fight method around a mouthful of snow.

"I don't care about fighting fair! If I fight fair I won't win!" I yelled back, still sitting on him arcing his spine up with each tug. Kuwabara just stood there stupidly, unsure whether he should save his long-time friend and rival.

"This fight has degenerated. I loathe to even call it a fight any longer," Hiei's unperturbed voice floated across the snow to me, from where he was addressing Kurama. The redhead didn't reply.

"Ow! Stop pulling!" Yusuke shouted, jerking back up and sending me flying against a tree. I slumped against the rough bark of the trunk. Dazed, I looked up into the snowy branches that seemed to spin in my vision. I shook my head to clear it.

Yusuke was running toward me, arms outstretched, looking furious.

Struck by inspiration, I rammed the back of my fist against the trunk of the tree. The branches overhead unloaded their burden of snow right onto Yusuke. And hey, presto, an instant snowman stood where the detective had been not a moment before.

I grinned and stood, walking over to the snowman. If they weren't going to take this training seriously, at least I was going to have some fun. I poked two holes for eyes.

Kuwabara's shouting announced his arrival. I sidestepped, and as he ran past I grabbed hold of the end of his scarf. Mid-charge, I tugged, and he spun around, landing awkwardly in the snow. "Thanks," I said, winking down at him.

I wrapped the scarf around the snowman's neck and stood back to admire my handiwork. The snowman exploded, showering me with cold particles.

"Aww. Yusuke... You destroyed my snowman," I pouted, crossing my arms.

"Well that's just too bad!" he shouted sarcastically, darting out of sight. I turned, searching for him, but my eyes couldn't follow his movements.

I felt a sharp sting between my shoulder blades as he snapped the back of my bra.

"Hey! What the hell are you doing?" I demanded, whipping around.

"Funny, that used to work so well in middle school," Yusuke pondered, genuinely puzzled, scratching his head.

"That _would've_ worked... if I were in middle school," I replied flatly, "This, however, still works." I lunged, grabbing hold of the band of his boxers and yanked up sharply, giving him an intense wedgie. A strangled yelp escaped the spirit detective's throat.

His face turned red with anger. I laughed as I darted away.

"I bet you were the terror of your class in grade school," Kuwabara observed from the side.

"Of course," I responded with an impish grin, "I wouldn't have had it any other way."

I watched idly as the spirit detective shook with anger. "I'm going to get you for that... Come back here!" Yusuke yelled as he sprinted after me.

I ran like hell. He chased me in circles until he cooled off a bit and stopped, studying me with a glare. I crossed my arms behind my head and stared back, unmoving.

After taking a moment to catch his breath, he charged in. I tried to run... and promptly fell flat on my face.

"What the-" I scrambled over onto my back, looking down at my shoes. I hadn't noticed Kuwabara tying my laces together until it was too late; now I could hear him laughing his head off.

I started to glare at him, but a shadow fell over me and I looked up with wide, alarmed eyes to see Yusuke diving in. A startled yelp left my throat, and I hurriedly kicked my shoes off... just in time to kick Yusuke in the nose on his way down.

He toppled over into the snow as I jumped up onto my own two, bare feet. Apparently, our cat fight hadn't evolved much.

"Don't do it!" He yelled in alarm from his cozy spot on the ground, hands over his groin. His eyes squeezed shut tightly.

"What the hell... are you doing?" I asked in genuine confusion, directing a blank stare down at the boy.

Yusuke cracked his eyes open, looking up: "I thought you didn't fight fair."

"I'm not _that_ mean," I responded, rolling my eyes.

I extended a hand down toward him, "Here," I said, pulling him up, "Besides, I think we can still consider that my win." A devious smile spread across my face.

"You were playing dirty," Yusuke grumbled, trying to shake the snow off his clothes.

"Of course," I replied flippantly, "Do you really think your enemy is going to play fair? I suppose you'll expect them to invite you to high tea next. 'Would you like some cake with that punch?'" I mock offered him a slice of cake, popping my hip out in a sarcastic gesture.

"Not likely. And I happen to have a very healthy desire to live, thank you very much," I stated flatly, plopping onto the ground as I started untying the knots in my laces.

"But all the-the clawing and biting and-and _hair pulling._ That's no way to have a real fight!" Yusuke still protested.

I pulled my shoes on and stood. "I'm not interested in playing by the rules. I'm interested in winning," I declared. He stared at me blankly, stupefied.

I continued on, unabashed, "I'm not as strong as them, and there's the truth of it, Yusuke... But I will scratch and claw my way to the top, if I have to. Because I'm going to live. And then I'm going to find a way to get myself home, goddamnit." The last, frustrated word floated back to my stunned audience as I slung my jacket over my shoulder and walked away.

"Where are you going? What about the training?" Kuwabara called after me.

I stopped, turning to face them: "Look, I get it. You're all a heck of a lot stronger than me. But this is just a waste of time for everyone if you guys aren't going to fight me seriously." Agitation seeped through my voice, as I was finally unable to contain it any longer.

"If you want people to take you seriously, get stronger," Hiei advised from the sidelines, arms crossed unconcernedly.

"I _am_ getting stronger," I replied truthfully, "With time. Now I just have to survive long enough to become a real threat, right?" I met his eyes squarely.

Hiei didn't answer, but his eyes narrowed in response to my words.

I just shrugged my jacket higher over my shoulder, saying, "I'll see you all back at Genkai's," and trudged on through the snow.

.

**AN: Ah, Rikyu. You are such an adorable creep... You're allowed to be (justifiably) mad at him, but please don't bash him too much! He's very near and dear to my strange, writer's heart.**

**Yes, domestic life still happens in the YYH world. Imagine Friday's disappointment when she realizes laundry _still_ doesn't magically fold itself... I'll be nice and spare you of that.**

I still have a deviantart account where I will be posting some pictures of characters, etc... to go with this story. Check it out if you want. I'm theanonymouspen . deviantart . com (no spaces)

Thank you for reading :)

**Simon says...**

**Please REVIEW!**


	23. Invitation

**Oh my gosh, guess what? Happy Friday the 13th! :D When I realized that, I was really excited and decided to post this chapter a day early, so here you go and you're welcome.**

**_Guest1_: Oh, don't worry. You'll definitely see more of Rikyu and some other exciting, new villains. This story is going to be kind of long, ehehe. I'm at about 200 pages and not yet through the first month of the year... (Sorry?) But probably the other months will be shorter. Poor Kurama. He won't be a pain for too much longer. He's coping in his own way. And the next chapter should have an exciting Kurama moment (Muahaha) And I absolutely LOVE long reviews (200 pages of story, here) so don't hesitate to leave another ;]**

**_mrsbeggins_: I'm glad you discovered my story and I was veryflattered by your review. And that's the problem with stories, isn't it? You can read in a couple days what took months to write. That part always makes me sad whichever side I'm on. Being new, be reassured, I do update _frequently_. And as a matter of fact, I do have a non-YYH story bouncing around in my head that I may get around to writing someday. Who knows? I may become an author as a hobby... When that day comes, I'll let you know. :]**

**_Guest2_: Sorry for getting you addicted. Haha.  
**

**_Guest3_:You are absolutely right. I just noticed it was Friday the 13th about an hour before you mentioned it, but I'll take you up on the offer to celebrate... with a chapter! :D I'm just so darn nice like that ;]  
**

_**. . .**_

"_**A **lot of people like snow. I find it to be an unnecessary freezing of water**." ― Carl Reiner**_

_. . ._

About halfway back, the guys caught up to me. Apparently, they'd had enough training for today. I didn't bother speaking with them, just walked silently ahead.

I broke through the dense thicket of trees and blinked in the light. A small figure stood in the distance before me. A girl... no, a woman, in a light blue kimono and strangely-colored hair of seafoam green. Hesitantly, I stood, shifting awkwardly from foot to foot. She was still a good ways away and didn't seem to have noticed me yet.

The woman held her hands out and tiny birds that had stuck out the harsh winter came and landed on her fingertips, unafraid. She looked like she was laughing. Who was she? The woman didn't look like she meant any sort of harm. A visitor, perhaps?

I heard a crunching of snow from behind as the heavy footfalls reached me.

"Yukina!" a loud bellow sounded spontaneously by my ear, causing me to cringe away. The woman looked up in momentary surprise and smiled. The carrot top ploughed through the snow with bounding steps as he ran at full speed toward her.

"So this is the infamous Yukina," I muttered to myself. The one Kuwabara was whipped over-at least, according to Yusuke. It wasn't hard to believe as I watched him trip over his own two feet and tumble awkwardly to the snow-covered ground in front of her. I approached curiously.

She covered her mouth with a hand as she laughed, as if she felt bad about the action. But Kuwabara just sat up, grinning and unharmed.

"It's good to see you again, Kazuma," the woman said, wide, ruby eyes crinkling up in a smile as she reined in her laughter.

"I should have known you would be here, my love! Of course Yukina would bring the snow," Kuwabara said as he jumped to his feet.

"Snow is a naturally occurring phenomenon, fool," Hiei said from Kuwabara's elbow.

"Can it, shrimp! Why don't you just go annoy someone else for a while?" Kuwabara exclaimed in irritation down at him, not enjoying the fire apparition's mocking commentary while he was trying to talk to Yukina.

"Oh! You guys are back," Botan observed, blue head popping around the doorway, "Come inside. We've got some tea on the table." She disappeared into the building.

We climbed the steps. "After you, Yukina!" Kuwabara announced with a gentlemanly flourish, gesturing to the stairs.

Yukina's tinkling laughter followed us into the temple.

Hiei brought up the rear.

As we stood around, sipping tea, it became clear that there would be no more talk of mission-related things for the day. Apparently, we were off the hook for the meeting. Suddenly, I was very glad Yukina had shown up when she did.

Hopefully, her arrival had also taken the boys' minds off my embarrassingly testy behavior earlier. Sometimes I felt like I just couldn't help myself.

The room was filled with Kuwabara's loud questioning about Yukina's life from the moment they had last parted and her soft, genuine answers. The others chimed in here and there-Botan particularly liked to insert herself into the conversation-but I just stood back, out of the way, and observed the scene.

Finally, it seemed to occur to Kuwabara that we'd never been introduced. So he pointed me out from across the room and I smiled awkwardly and waved as Yukina bowed politely in my direction.

Yukina appeared to be a very kind person, but she was so refined and delicate-looking that I couldn't help but feel a little out of place even being in the same room as her. To add to the guilt, I had a sneaking suspicion that it would just make her sad to know that I was uncomfortable in her presence. Subconsciously, I realized I had toned done my more brash mannerisms and crude language.

Genkai didn't seem to have the same problem.

It wasn't that I was some uncivilized fop, but I'd never thought of the few curse words I did use as really swearing. Words like hell and damn seemed innocent enough until you looked into the face of real innocence and discovered they were just a bit vulgar. I grimaced involuntarily, and lifted the cup to my lips to hide the expression. Drat. Empty.

I looked around the room. Genkai sat out of the way at the table, while Botan, Yusuke, and Kurama stood close by; they seemed to be partially absorbed in their own conversation, but would occasionally expand it to include the reunited "couple" who I got the feeling from watching weren't actually a couple just yet-despite the lovey-dovey possessives Kuwabara kept throwing around.

With a start, I realized that Hiei was still present, taking a casual seat in the windowsill. It was unnerving the way his eyes followed Yukina and Kuwabara. Sometimes, it seemed like he remembered to be discrete, but the majority of the time... he just stared.

I suddenly became aware of the reason why Hiei's presence felt so out of place. It was obvious that there was no mandatory team meeting, and the minute he found that out he was usually gone faster than I could blink. And so the fact that he stayed of his own free will to engage in-or at least observe-the small talk caused me no end of surprise.

In my time of silent observation, I began to notice the way he looked at Kuwabara. He never was too fond of the carrot top, and often shot nasty glances his way, but this time it was a _real_ death glare.

Why? Could it be possible that he... _liked_ the newcomer? She was the only novel factor in this equation, after all. But no... I couldn't really see him liking anyone in that way. I dismissed that idea as pure, unfounded speculation. But it was true that he behaved differently toward her. He was less abrasive somehow, even just in the way his eyes landed on her soft features.

I finally decided it was some backstory that I wasn't privy to... like most of the things around here seemed to be. I sighed silently. Story of my life.

I tried to stand invisibly in my corner, but my eyes kept roaming back to the mysterious duo. They were so different... both were small in stature, but that was about where the similarities ended. Yukina's hair and clothing were light, feminine pastels... Hiei opted for black instead. Hiei's cloak, I knew, concealed a deadly sword. The only thing remotely sharp about Yukina was her hair clip.

Yukina's face seemed to permanently sport a small smile, and frequently I heard her gentle laughter. Hiei often remained impassive, except for the glare that he was currently shooting out of his eyes, like he could burn a hole through the back of Kuwabara's head if he tried hard enough. In short, Yukina: soft and delicate... Hiei: lean, mean, and dangerous.

Even their eyes, though the same shade, seemed to be nearly complete opposites...

And as I glanced back and forth between the trio, I watched as Hiei grew more furious as time went on, until I could picture scores of ways for him to end Kuwabara's life right then and there.

I edged up beside Yusuke and Kurama-Botan had left them a while ago to sit with Genkai.

"Uh, hey guys..." I whispered, hand over mouth. I didn't think Hiei would pry his attention away from the pair enough to even notice I was talking about him, "Anyone else worried for Kuwabara's life?"

They just chuckled. Kurama assured me shortly that Kuwabara would be alright. What was I missing?

I openly stared, hands on my hips as my eyes shifted between the three. My brow furrowed deeper in thought as my gaze continued to jump around, examining them. Suddenly, my eyes made direct contact with threatening crimson ones as Hiei turned his head to face me. I flinched automatically in response.

"Don't think too hard about it, woman," a voice in my head said.

I yelped and spun around, facing the opposite direction, one hand on my furiously beating heart. My face flushed deeply in embarrassment at having been caught. Since when could Hiei do that anyway?

Beside me, Yusuke sniggered. I shot him a glare and jabbed him in the side with an elbow.

I glanced plaintively up at Kurama to see if he was chuckling too. He was silent, but his eyes shone with contained humor. He bit a nail to keep from laughing outright.

Instantly deflating, I stalked my way to the kitchen, eyebrows knit together, in search of some calming tea.

I was in Genkai's kitchen, sitting cross-legged on a chair as I fiddled with a nearly empty cup when Yukina came in.

With mild surprise, I noted that Kuwabara hadn't tried to accompany her; he looked so much like a little lost puppy, the way he followed her around. I could see why. She was the type of person who was so kind and gentle that others were automatically drawn to the nice vibe that surrounded them.

With thoughtful eyes, I watched the small girl as she made her way around the kitchen. Her hands were practiced as she sifted through the drawers with ease, and I gathered she had been here many times before. I studied her aura with some effort.

"So you're a demon?" I said, breaking the comfortable silence, not entirely sure whether I'd meant to say that out loud.

Yukina looked my way. "An ice maiden... so yes, I am an apparition," she replied and smiled softly.

"I see... How did you meet the boys?" I asked for the sake of conversation.

Her smile faded and a faraway look grew in her crimson eyes: "I was looking for my long-lost twin brother when my search led me to the human world. I met a bad man here, a human named Tarukane, who held me hostage so he could sell my tear gems-he had a hand in the black market. The Reikai Tantei came and rescued me."

"I'm sorry," I apologized, "I didn't realize..."

"No, that's alright," the ice maiden assured me with a gentle smile, "It's in the past now. And I'm very grateful that I got to meet such wonderful people."

I beamed at her in return, feeling the same pride in our boys that I was sure she shared. It was a silly way to feel, really, but I couldn't help it.

"Are you still looking for your brother?" I asked, thinking I would help her look if she hadn't found him already.

"I'm not seeking him any longer," she said, but didn't look sad, "Lately I've been wandering so that I can learn more about the worlds around me, and to visit friends I've met along the way. It's not good to spend one's whole life in ignorance."

My brow creased in confusion. Well that was a strange response. She didn't sound like she'd given up, but it didn't really sound like she'd found her brother either. I pushed the thought away. She was allowed to have her secrets; we barely knew each other, after all.

I remembered something strange she had said. "Tear gems?" I asked, hoping it wasn't too sensitive a subject.

"The tears of ice maidens harden into gems when they cry. But since the ice maidens live in a colony separate from the rest of the Makai, these gems are very rare, especially in the human world. They can sell for a high price," Yukina informed me.

Funny, she looked soft, but she didn't seem like the type to cry often. I guess these ice maidens must be pretty tough birds.

"What about the... er... ice... men?" I questioned awkwardly. She had yet to mention them.

"There are none," she said as I openly gaped, "Only women are allowed to live among the ice maidens."

"Well that's not going to last very long," I muttered.

Yukina actually laughed at me, a light, tinkling sound: "Ice maidens don't need men to keep the population going. We have the ability to bear our own children."

I shifted in my seat, leaning over the back as the chair tilted on its hind legs, unable to sit like a normal person for long. I crossed my arms over the top of the chair and rested my head on them.

"Donors?" I asked, an uncomprehending look on my face.

"You're thinking like a human," she told me, but her voice was gentle. Her small smile told me it hadn't been meant as an insult, "Ice maidens do not require a man to reproduce."

"How does that work?" I asked, crinkling my nose, "You just think 'baby' and poof, there's a baby?" I illustrated with my hands, outlining a round ball of a stomach.

She laughed again. Apparently, she was amused by my ignorance on the subject.

"Not quite. There is a special fruit that grows in the snowy lands where the ice maidens live. Every hundred years the women are offered a choice. If they wish to bear children, all they have to do is pluck one off the high mountains where they grow and eat of the fruit. All the children conceived this way are born female," she explained.

This was all sounding very strange to me.

"Oh!" I exclaimed quietly in surprise. She had a brother... which meant he hadn't been born of that fruit. I wondered if the women in the colony had forced him to leave because of it. Maybe Yukina as well...?

"So if these ice maidens all live in that ice convent, why are you wandering around out here? Not that I mind you being here," I hastened to assure her.

Yukina frowned, and I was surprised a bit at the negative expression: "Their hearts are harder than ice. I do not wish to be like them."

The look on her face... I sat up and reached out to take her shoulder gently. She looked me in the eyes.

"Then you already aren't," I told her, reassuringly.

She smiled. It was small, but genuine. Already I felt, we had made a connection. It wasn't much yet, but it was there. My own face brightened in return.

The moment was broken as Kuwabara burst around the corner, yelling "Yukina!" loudly as he searched for the ice maiden.

I nearly jumped out of my skin. The chair I had been occupying clattered to the floor as it tipped over.

"Don't... scare me like that!" I shouted back, whirling around and knocking him to the floor. I ground the back of his head under my foot.

Suddenly, I remembered Yukina's presence in the room and wondered if I shouldn't let him up.

Oddly, she began to chuckle a bit, though she hid it behind her hand. I stopped twisting my heel and blinked slowly at her.

"Have you met Shizuru?" Yukina questioned, as if by way of explanation.

"Shizuru?" I asked, more confused than ever.

"Don't tell her about that!" Kuwabara yelped. He seemed strangely worried the gentle ice maiden would embarrass him over something.

"Hai. Shizuru Kuwabara, Kazuma's older sister," Yukina supplied, "It's just that I think the two of you would get along very well."

"Oh..." I turned my face down to Kuwabara, eyes gleaming as a mischievous smile slowly spread across my face, "You never told me you had a sister."

"Gah!" Kuwabara exclaimed, struggling to get up. I had mercy on him and removed my foot, but continued to chuckle deviously as he jumped up to his feet.

And for some reason, Kuwabara suddenly looked very nervous...

.

.

.

Eventually, it was time for the others to leave. Admittedly, I was going to sort of miss torturing Kuwabara with my sporadic bouts of maniacal chuckling that I broke out whenever he started to look too comfortable.

Hiei certainly didn't seem to mind my putting Kuwabara on edge. In fact, I think he rather enjoyed it; his death glare was replaced by a smug smirk, at any rate.

Botan pulled me aside as the others shrugged their winter clothing on.

"Yukina will be staying at Master Genkai's temple with you for a while, just so you know. She often stays here when she visits the human world," the grim reaper explained to me in a chipper tone.

I nodded, arms crossed. With the way she had expertly maneuvered around the kitchen, I had figured the situation would be something like that.

"I'll have to come visit soon and we can have some girl time," Botan's expression grew brighter, if that were even possible, "Yukina isn't around too often, so we have to take advantage of this chance to celebrate!

"Oh! Speaking of which," Botan continued on blithely, "We could always put together a little Christmas celebration, even though it's not tradition here."

Thank you _so_ much for reminding me, Botan. My good mood from earlier deflated, nearly vanishing completely.

"Don't worry about it," I said, shoulders drooping.

"Well, if you're certain... It isn't much trouble, really..." she didn't look convinced.

"That's alright..." I replied, "But I'm expecting a real, huge, traditional Japanese New Year's celebration soon." Hopefully, if I gave her a task, she would forget about butchering Christmas.

"Righteo, then!" she perked right back up, "I'll be back shortly!" And with that, Botan popped out the door, following the boys tracks through the snow.

I sighed and slid the door shut behind her.

.

.

.

The next day I took the bus into town. Partly, I went because we were out of milk. Partly, I went for the free training. But I'm not gonna lie, my main motivation in going to see Larry was to complain about the lack of a Japanese Christmas. Being a close friend of my American grandpa, he should understand.

"-and can you believe they don't celebrate Christmas?" I continued my rampage, pacing up and down the aisle of the moving bus as he listened patiently.

"I mean, what kind of country doesn't even recognize it as a holiday?" I exclaimed, crossing my arms.

"Are you actually angry about it, or just disappointed?" Larry asked, seeing right through me.

I blew hot air through my lips as I plopped down on a side bench, resting my head in my hands. "Disappointed, I guess," I finally replied, though from my reaction he probably didn't need to be told.

"Tell you what, why don't you attend a Christmas party with me?" Larry suggested, white mustache twitching.

"Someone's having a Christmas party?" I asked, looking up hopefully.

"Not yet, but I'm sure the boss won't pass up a good excuse for a celebration," he said gruffly.

An office party? Well, I supposed even that was better than no Christmas celebration. I shrugged, "In that case, count me in."

"Good," he said simply, "Now get down there and do your exercises."

I groaned. So he hadn't forgotten after all. But I was going to a Christmas party, so I guess it was an okay exchange.

.

.

.

Semiformal, Larry had said. I looked around for something suitable, gave up, and dragged the next-best thing out of the closet. Feeling uncomfortable about dressing up, I pulled on a pair of slacks and a nice, silk blouse Botan had insisted I purchase, I supposed for occasions just like this.

The blouse was a shade of green that bordered teal, and it complimented my hair nicely. The bottoms were a plain, pin-striped grey.

I sighed and wondered what to do about my hair. I avoided using a mirror-there wasn't one in my room or bathroom anyway-and twisted my hair up in a loose bun. Two long strips of hair, one white-blonde, one purple, were left to frame either side of my face. It would have to do. I didn't really feel like breaking my no-mirror streak that I had begun when I first got stuck here anytime soon.

As of late, I had bigger problems to worry about anyway than whether I looked alright. I rubbed my face with my hands and was pleased to note that at least it didn't feel like I had any cuts or scrapes still accenting my features. My ugly torso scars were concealed appropriately beneath the feminine-looking blouse.

Reluctantly, I grabbed some heels and left the temple, heading down the hill barefoot. There was no point in torturing my feet until etiquette dictated I had to.

.

**AN: Just so no one's confused, the Christmas party happens on the evening of December 24th, you know, like all Christmas parties...**

**And I totally made that bit about the fruit up. I just always had a hard time accepting that every hundred years, a koorime just has a baby for no particular reason. I dunno... maybe it was explained and I just don't remember it. Moving on...**

Side note: Finally saw Brave! The animated short at the beginning was absolutely breathtaking. Some of the most stunning animation I've ever seen. Highly recommended.

**Oh, and the Christmas party's gonna be _real_ fun ;]**

I still have a deviantart account where I will be posting some pictures of characters, etc... to go with this story. Check it out if you want. I'm theanonymouspen . deviantart . com (no spaces)

Thank you for reading :)

**To read the awesome next chapter...**

**Please REVIEW!**


	24. Kanpai

**I have received many comments about Friday's apparent ignorance over the Hiei/Yukina thing and Larry/Sano thing. I would just like to take this moment to say: yes, she is ignorant. Friday is a fairly worldly-wise person, but she can be a little slow at times. Please bear with her. She has a lot of new information to sort out, but she'll figure it all out in the end, promise! (Processing... processing...)**

**_Angel of Randomosity_: Thank you for being such a consistent reviewer. Sorry I missed your review to ch 22 (I think I may have posted ch 23 by then, possibly). Poor Rikyu just doesn't quite know how to express himself. I think Hiei can see she's getting stronger; it was probably just his usual insensitive way of giving helpful advice (You'd have to confirm this with him). To me, the Hiei/Yukina thing isn't as obvious as most people think it is (this is just my opinion). Friday doesn't even know he has a sister. And demons have all sorts of weird things going on, which Friday realizes she's ignorant of. Why should she be suspicious of stereotypical, demonic red eyes?**

**_bananamush_: Hmm... is Friday's world really a parallel world? You'll just have to read and see. Sometimes she thinks so, sometime she isn't quite sure. After all, it could just be that her gramps was a Sleeper too. The possibilities are endless...**

**_AkaMizu-chan_: Thank you for joining us! Always glad to have one more person who likes Friday. **

**_Guest:_ In the anime, they just mention that Koorime give birth every 100 years. The bit about the fruit I added myself. But watermelon seeds... why didn't I think of that! :O Genius. **

**_CRdragonPyro_: Honestly, I write so much in such a short period of time that I don't really have time to go back and reread my own story -.-' I'm fairly certain that Friday didn't hear that Kuwabara had a sister before though... maybe that was a different story? Anywho... Dun dun dun! You are catching onto the complexity of the gramps problem ;] (And Friday's slowness)**

**_AbyssTales_: You make me blush with your compliments. I'm glad you find my story original and think Friday is likable _and_ credible. That makes me very happy. And I love Kurama's darker side too :] We all know it's there... why deny it?**

**My apologies in advance to those of you who feel my ANs go on too long. I want to be able to respond to my anonymous reviewers too, which is why I reply here. Also, you know how it goes... if one person has a question, they're likely not the only one. My replies are meant to be helpful to you too! :] (But you may skip them if they really bug you)**

_**. . .**_

"_**It** was only after my head started reeling and my body started weaving and I tumbled into bed that I'd hear that soothing voice singing...The reverberations of that voice wandered sweetly, softly, working like a massage on the area of my heart that was the most tightly clenched, helping those knots to loosen. It was like the rush of waves, and like the laughter of people I'd met in all kinds of places, people I'd become friendly with and then separated from, and like the kind words all those people had said to me, and like the mewing of a cat I had lost, and like the mixture of noises that rang in the background in a place that was dear to me, a place far away, a place that no longer existed...**" ― Banana Yoshimoto**_

_. . ._

It was a strange party. Definitely not what I was expecting, though I didn't really think I had been expecting anything in particular.

What kind of bus company operated out of a traditional, Japanese building I had no idea. It wasn't functional enough to look like an office, but didn't seem comfortable enough to be the boss' home either. Antique decorations lined the walls; they looked expensive. There was even a collection of old samurai swords. I stopped to study them, Larry hovering patiently beside me.

Discreetly surveying the guests, I realized I stuck out like a sore thumb. Even the men were wearing their traditional, man-kimonos. In contrast, I was wearing slacks and a blouse - - the only things I could find in my closet that seemed remotely fitting for the semi-formal occasion. It was better than showing up in a ball gown, at any rate.

"Larry!" a voice boomed from behind me and I jumped to attention, "Who's this you've brought with you?"

"This is the girl, boss," Larry replied casually in his usual, slightly-rough tone.

"This is the girl..." the man mused, looking me over, eyes lingering on my purple shock of hair that I had tried to tame earlier without use of a mirror. Belatedly, I wondered if it looked alright.

He wasn't old, for a boss. He looked like he might be in his late thirties, early forties... I was pretty bad at judging age, though and had particular trouble identifying it in Asian people. He, too, wore a high-necked kimono of subdued colors. Only the way people skirted around him respectfully set him apart. They didn't address him; he addressed them. That was the mentality.

His hair was dark, and trimmed short in a respectable cut; he was clean-shaven. I noticed that the boss had a firm set of jaw that indicated strength if the defined muscles of his hands weren't already a dead giveaway. His nose was ever-so-slightly crooked at the top.

"So... you're Larry's boss," I said, feeling I should acknowledge his presence somehow. I continued to ramble, asking dumbly, "You own the bus line?"

He guffawed, hands on hips as he laughed loudly at the suggestion. My lip stuck out in a pout. Well, _excuse_ me.

But he overlooked the incident as one would pass over most social slip-ups of a know-nothing foreigner.

"Enjoy the party. You gave us an excuse, you know. We'll be celebrating all the way through New Year's if you ever want Larry here to bring you back," he barked a short laugh and clapped the old man on the shoulder. The tall, imposing man then disappeared into the crowd.

Larry pulled me along through the mob of people as the party ensued. There were all kinds of weird dishes around, but I was a good sport about it, refusing only to eat the whole fish with the eyes still on it.

"Well, that's alright," Larry assured me, "There are many native Japanese who won't touch it either."

Eventually, he led me to some low tables where we knelt and watched the other people in the room. They appeared to be engaged in some kind of gambling game. I was a little shocked at how many tattoos the people gathered there collectively had.

In the other room, people had been almost painfully polite and proper, kimonos wrapped around them in strict folds. Here, the men let the tops of their kimonos droop over the sides of their obi onto the floor, leaving their brightly tattooed chests bare. I'd never seen so many colors on a single individual's body in my life as I did now.

The smell of smoke was stronger here, almost overwhelming, but I gritted my teeth and tried not to say anything to insult Larry as he also pulled out a cigarette and lit it. I just attempted to breathe in as little as possible, sure I would drop dead any minute from lung cancer.

Some women were going around the tables, bearing drinks. One came up to us now, placing a couple small cups before us.

"Oh. No thank you, I don't drink," I told the woman, who simply gave me a scathing look. I blanched and decided it was best not to argue with her. I grasped the cup in both hands to indicate my acceptance of the drink. Her hard eyes slid from my face as she wandered away.

I sniffed the dark liquid distrustingly. All I could smell was smoke, my scent receptors having been fried by it already. "What is it?" I asked, looking up at Larry.

"It's traditional Japanese. Drink up," he told me, adding a "kanpai" onto the end as he tossed back the questionable liquid.

I raised the rim hesitantly to my lips and took a sip. Ick. Whatever it was, it was unbelievably bitter. But it didn't really have that ethanol taste that came with most alcoholic beverages. Maybe it was just some weird type of tea? I'd never tasted anything that I could remotely compare it to.

At any rate, I knew it was considered exceedingly rude in Japan not to eat what you were offered by the hosts...

After a moment of contemplation, I decided the only way I'd be able to get it down was by following Larry's lead. I opened my throat and poured it straight down, feeling the burn. My eyes stung sharply. I coughed, tongue sticking out in disgust. Larry just laughed at my expression. I frowned back.

The woman returned nearly the moment my empty glass hit the table, refilling it. "Ah! That's alright. I really don't need another..." I tried to protest, waving my hands. Again, she shot me a glare. Again, I cowered and simply raised the glass to my lips.

Maybe if she saw me drain this one, she would leave me alone. After a brief moment of fire, it was down. I gagged, but it wasn't as bad as the last time.

Hopefully, I looked up at her. A small, approving smile hooked up the corner of her mouth, and she refilled the cup again. You have got to be kidding me.

I sighed and gave up entirely. I barely felt that one go down. Or the next. Definitely not the one after that...

.

.

.

Botan had been planning a party anyway, despite Friday's protests. But the surprise party was more of a surprise for Botan when she discovered the girl was nowhere to be found in the temple. Genkai informed her bluntly that Friday had gone out, appearing completely indifferent to Botan's crestfallen appearance.

Well, while she already had everyone else together, she wasn't going to waste an opportunity like this. Only Hati, Shizuru, and Koenma had declined to come. Hiei was probably only there because Yukina was present, but Botan had learned to take what she could get when it came to the temperamental fire apparition.

"Um..." she began nervously, breaking the news to the group, "Alright, guys. It appears that Friday isn't here right now, so we'll just have to start without her!"

"I don't believe this," Yusuke groaned, "Why are we here, again? _Ow!_ Dammit, Keiko. What'd you do that for?" he rubbed a sore spot on his arm.

"Be nice, Yusuke," she replied, sternly.

He grumbled, but settled down.

"So... Botan, what do we do at a Christmas celebration anyway?" Kuwabara voiced the question they had all been wondering, but felt too embarrassed to ask.

"Ahaha," the bluenette laughed nervously, "Well, you know... this and that. Stuff, really."

"Great. You have no idea, do you?" Yusuke grumped, and dodged the coming blow.

"Oh! I know," Botan exclaimed, ignoring the punk's insensitive comment with practiced ease, "Let's open the cider!" She pulled out a bottle of cold Martinelli's.

After a moment of struggling with the cap, Kurama took pity on her, taking it from her with an "Allow me" as he popped it open easily.

"Why, thank you, Kurama. You're very helpful, unlike _some people_," Botan directed this comment at the back of Yusuke's head, where he was currently sprawled on the couch, eyes closed.

"I have the cups," Yukina announced, returning with an armful of teacups for the sparking apple cider.

Keiko came over to fill them as Botan rummaged through a bag she'd brought.

"Aha! Here it is!" the bluenette announced, pulling out a large, red box.

"What is that?" Kuwabara questioned, coming over to peer at it.

"It's a game, Kuwabara," Botan explained.

"Apples to Apples...?" Kuwabara read the title aloud curiously.

"So it's a holiday celebrating apples?" Yusuke mumbled, finally coming up to join them.

"Looks like it," Kuwabara muttered back.

Botan was already in the middle of explaining the rules, so the others were spared this painfully incorrect exchange.

" - - and I'm _so_ glad we're all here, because you really need a lot of people for this game to be fun!" Botan finished, holding a finger up exuberantly.

Keiko and Kurama assisted her in setting up the cards, as she directed their efforts. The group crowded around the table. Even Master Genkai pulled up a chair in response to one of Yusuke's condescending comments, declaring she wouldn't lose to a bunch of inexperienced dimwits.

Only one was missing.

"Won't you join us, Hiei?" Yukina asked, turning her wide eyes to the fire apparition.

"I don't play games," he responded from his spot on the windowsill, and turned his head to look out into the dark forest.

Yukina sighed, face falling slightly.

"Don't worry about him, Yukina. He'll come around once he sees how much fun it is!" Botan assured her, and began the gameplay.

Discreetly, Hiei's crimson eyes flicked over to watch the group.

.

.

.

"C'mon, Kurama!" Yusuke shouted indignantly, throwing his hand of cards to the table, "There's no way the old hag won that one!"

"I'm sorry, Yusuke, but trailer parks are not refined," Kurama responded.

"They're a heck of a lot better than blizzards!" Yusuke huffed.

"She had a convincing argument," Kurama shrugged, sliding the green card with "refined" printed on the side across the table to the old psychic. She placed it beside her already large mound of green cards.

"My turn," Genkai stated, "Sit down, dimwit."

Yusuke slumped back into his chair, arms crossed angrily.

Genkai pulled a green card off the deck: "Insane," she read, "Psychotic, deranged, mad..."

The group around the table shuffled through their red cards to find the one most suited to the word; eventually, they each selected one to hand to the old Master. She shuffled them for anonymity.

"Who's wild card is this?" Genkai asked, holding up the blank.

"Mine!" Botan called.

"Your word?" Genkai prompted.

Botan chuckled behind a hand, eyes darting over to the man studiously ignoring them from the windowsill. "Hiei!" she finally burst out in a fit of giggles.

He ground his teeth together, grip immediately going to his katana. Only the knowledge that Yukina was present prevented him from doing something incredibly rash.

"A-ha! See. I knew you were listening, Hiei!" Botan shouted triumphantly, jumping to her feet and pointing at him, "Just admit it already and come play!"

"Why should I waste my time with your inane human games?" he spat angrily, glaring daggers at the reaper.

The others looked on - - some with amusement, some with concern.

"Now, Hiei - - " Kurama began, holding up his hands in a pacifying gesture.

A hollow knock sounded loudly at the door - boom boom boom.

Eight pairs of eyes turned and stared curiously. Genkai slid off her chair with a sigh, making her way over to the entry.

.

.

.

The door slid back, revealing an old man. My attention was quickly drawn away from him, however, and to the girl he was supporting as she tripped over the threshold and literally fell into the room. Stray locks of purple hair that had fallen out of a terribly messy bun splayed around her on the wooden boards of the temple floor.

She moaned and rolled over, giggling. Trying to sit up, she flopped over once more, like a spineless rag doll.

The sharp sting of alcohol met my sensitive nose unpleasantly. Well, that certainly explained the woman's behavior.

"What are you doing here?" Genkai demanded of the man, and I lifted my focus away from the girl on the floor.

The collar of the old man's somber kimono seemed to have slipped open in the hike up the hill, revealing a full set of intensely colored tattoos below. My eyes narrowed in thought. Could he be...?

Slowly, he took out a cigarette and lit it.

He took a long puff before answering, many years of smoking appearing to have taken their toll on his voice box, "I heard you weren't going to teach the girl. Since I wouldn't be stepping on any toes, I figured I'd give her a hand."

"So what? You're some kind of teacher now, Larry?" Genkai scoffed; it would seem she recognized this elderly man. I supposed the saying was true: all old people really did know each other, after all.

"You aren't the only one who can teach a young dog new tricks," he replied, unperturbed. Silence ensued.

The old man, Larry, took a deep drag of his cigarette before continuing: "It's been a while since we went our separate ways... you to your monsters, me to the family... Tell me, how's that working out for you, you old bat?" He chuckled around his cigarette. Yes, he almost certainly was...

Genkai ground her teeth and snapped testily: "Fine! Life is just a basket of roses. And retirement... well, it seems like all I do is sit around with my sewing needle and my three million cats." Sarcasm dripped from her every word.

"Now, if all pleasantries are out of the way, maybe you wouldn't mind explaining what Friday was doing with you," Genkai demanded suspiciously.

He shrugged, "She wanted to go to a Christmas party."

"But the transportation company you work for doesn't celebrate Christmas," she half-asked, half-stated.

"No. It doesn't," he responded, unconcerned.

"You took her to your other boss for Christmas," Genkai said flatly.

He didn't deny it.

"Dimwit!" Genkai suddenly hissed, "The girl doesn't drink. She probably had no idea what it even was she was drinking, did she?"

"Hmm... probably not," Larry said calmly around a mouthful of cigarette, sounding as though he hadn't considered the possibility before.

"What were you thinking? Here she comes back so drunk she can't even stand on her own two feet!" The old psychic flung an arm out to make her point.

We looked to the floor where Friday had finally managed to right herself to a seated position, and was currently wobbling to her feet in a very unstable manner. She stared groggily up into the ceiling and croaked, "Whys th' room spinnin? ... Shtop. Uh." The girl had been trying to stand, but crashed against the table, taking one of the vacant chairs down in the process.

Now on all fours, she crawled under the table and sprawled there, humming deliriously.

"Taking her to that place..." the old psychic growled out, "She could have been hurt!"

"Ha!" Larry barked a short laugh, "Not that one. I know she doesn't look it now, but she started a table brawl all by herself and mopped the floor with our boys. Gave the boss a healthy shock." Unbelievable. I blinked, hard.

"Speaking of which, someone should be by tomorrow to pick her up," Larry said in a final sort of way, straightened his kimono and turned around in the doorway, "I'll be off. See you around, old bat."

Genkai banged the door shut angrily behind him.

Suddenly, something appeared to seize the girl. She seemed to be possessed, the way she was rolling around on the floor, laughing. Tumbling out from under the table, she finally came to a halt in the middle of the room.

All of us watched her curiously, wondering what she would do next. Botan looked like her eyes might fall right out of their sockets, the way she stared incredulously down at the girl as she struggled to sit up.

"Oh!" Botan exclaimed, bending down to pick up an object that had come loose from Friday's person, "This is terrible! I liked those shoes..." She examined the broken heel with open dismay.

Friday didn't even seem to notice the presence of any of those in the room with her. Unprompted, she threw her arms in the air and fell backward to the ground, exclaiming "Wheeeee!" jubilantly as she went, like it was some kind of ride.

I couldn't watch this anymore. Quickly, I marched out of the room, disappearing into the kitchen.

Within a minute, I had returned. The girl was now laying flat on her back, arms spread wide, staring at the ceiling with a glazed and uncomprehending look in her eyes.

"Uh... Kurama. What are you going to do with that?" Kuwabara asked, staring at me wide-eyed.

I didn't answer, just strode over and tossed the freezing contents of the bucket over the girl, covering her head to toe in ice cold water.

She spluttered, and jerked to a seated position, bracing herself on her hands, clothes soaked through. For a moment, she could only stare with a dumbstruck look on her face.

I wasn't expecting what happened next.

The girl leaped up faster than I could blink, knocking me to the ground with the force of her weight. Her fingers found purchase in my hair, though the short locks shouldn't have given her much to hold onto. I hadn't realized she could still move so quickly in her heavily inebriated state.

"Tha's it!" she shouted down at me from her position on top of my chest, "I dun care if you are a red'ead. I'mma rip your hair out!" Ah. Now I understood how she maneuvered her way through the aforementioned table brawl.

Perhaps more terrifying than anything was the sudden mood-switch that followed. She went from furious to deflated in a matter of mere moments.

Sighing, she collapsed, falling over onto me in a tired sort of way, letting her chin settle on the crook of my neck. I attempted to lay as still as possible, hoping she had forgotten my presence beneath her, and thought I was simply an uncomfortable cushion.

I did my best, as well, to ignore the various giggles and snickers that came from my assorted audience.

"Some plan..." Yusuke said with barely-restrained laughter.

I gave him a disapproving look.

Her arms tightened around me and I froze, looking down at the girl who reeked of ethanol. Momentarily, her mouth found my ear and she confessed in a tired, breathy tone of voice, "I jus' wanna sleep, 'Rama."

I held very still, almost feeling pity for the girl. Admittedly, in that moment she sounded very worn and deserving of the rest that she couldn't find here.

Slowly, I raised myself up off the floor, trying to disentangle the woman in the process. She didn't resist, just let herself slide back down to the wooden boards as she curled up into a ball, eyes half-closed.

"Well," I said lightly, trying to break the awkward silence that had descended on the room, "It would seem she does know my name, after all."

Yusuke shook his head, and I looked at the boy, a slight frown tugging down the corners of my mouth. "I don't know about that," he sniggered, "She did say 'Rama.'"

And after that, there was no hope for him. He burst out laughing uncontrollably. I surveyed him with a flat look. The others, who had themselves been laughing until that moment, finally quieted, seeming equally disturbed by the display.

"Uh..." Kuwabara reached out to shake Yusuke's shoulder.

"Leave him," I instructed the carrot top, with a sigh, "Perhaps it would be best if you removed Friday to the other room, so she can get some rest."

"Yeah... sure," Kuwabara responded, a bit unsurely, but picked the girl up in his arms, nonetheless.

Within moments, he was back. I sighed, rubbing my temple. That meant he had put her in that cramped, converted broom closet. Not the best place to rest, but... well, I wasn't going to move her. If Yusuke ever quieted down, I supposed it would do.

We resumed our interrupted card game.

Eventually, Yusuke's laughter did subside. That was when I heard it. A low voice that perhaps only Hiei and myself could distinguish.

" - - istmas Eve'll find me..." the words were jumbled. My brow creased in thought as I recognized it as an English song - - a Christmas carol - - with words in English that no one else here would understand.

The girl continued on in a soft slur: "I'll be home f'r Christmas 'f only inmy dreeams..." the muffled singing crept down the hall, and for some reason, the words brought me an inexplicable feeling of sadness. I gazed at my hand of cards without really seeing them.

"Kurama?" Botan interrupted my train of thought, "Have you decided on a card yet?"

I looked up to see their eyes watching me. Selecting one at random, I passed it across the table to her.

"Yes, of course..." I muttered with a small smile.

There was an uncomfortable feeling on the back of my neck as a pair of eyes watched me from the windowsill.

.

**AN: Tried to fix the m-dashes. They're still ugly, but hopefully more readable. I use Pages, so there are a lot of weird formatting issues. Sorry. Hope you enjoyed the party! This was a fun chapter to write. Also, sorry it took so long to post! I was struck with writer's inspiration and have been cranking out pages for the past few days, so I didn't have time to edit. That means a brief delay, but you guys will get more goodies out of it, so please forgive me! I developed a whole new character and another fight scene out of it :] Coming soon...**

**And you guys should definitely check out Apples to Apples. I hope I didn't confuse anyone too much with that part :/ **

I still have a deviantart account where I will be posting some pictures of characters, etc... to go with this story. Check it out if you want. I'm theanonymouspen . deviantart . com (no spaces)

Thank you for reading :)

**To find out who is coming to pick Friday up in the morning...**

**Please REVIEW!**


	25. Yakuza Christmas

**Looks like about half of you figured out the surprise anyway, so... I get to use the title I wanted. Hurrah! **

**_Guest1:_ I'm so sorry I made you sad! It was supposed to be a largely entertaining chapter, but I guess you're right... the ending was pretty depressing. [But since you like that carol, you should totally check out the Katina's _I'll Be Home/White Christmas _rock and soul carol mashup. It's my favorite] ... Moi? I'm not mean to her... I let her meet the gang, right? Otherwise poor Friday would be stuck being a semi-ordinary person for the rest of her fictional life. Glad my ANs are helpful. And reviewers _are _special; my reviewers, extra special... take that how you will (and have a cookie).**

**_Guest2:_ Glad my Kurama/Friday moments are entertaining! :] As a matter of fact, I do have a couple couples in mind, though this is a largely non-romantic fic (Don't worry. I'll try not to go overboard with the mush!) The only trouble is, I keep falling in love with other couples! (Bad author, bad!) :O**

**_Guest3:_ Badass... yep, that's a good way to describe Larry :] Kurama only thinks that things are always going according to his plans... muahaha. And don't worry. A little lack of sleep never hurt anyone. I usually write this fic after midnight, anyway, which is probably why it's a little wonky (I still edit during the day when I'm sane). But if it makes you leave long reviews, by all means, get as little sleep as possible! (jk Don't strain yourself)**

**_CRdragonPyro_: Ah! You've caught my little scheme (promise you'll still act surprised). Thanks for leaving a review, sharp reviewer ;]**

**_Angel of Randomosity:_ I'm so sorry I keep making people sad! :'( This chapter should be a little more up_beat_ (snickers at own terrible joke).**

**_Guest4_: Aww... I'm glad you liked the Genkai/Larry part. Haven't decided if they'll meet again for an extended chat. **

_**. . .**_

"_**T**he more I see, the less I know, the more I'd like to let it go**." ― The Red Hot Chili Peppers**_

_. . ._

Our last actual game had ended a while ago, but still we hung around. The reason was partly that it was too late an hour to take the bus back into town, though we were, admittedly, curious to see who the girl's mysterious visitor would be.

I ran a hand through my messy red locks and sighed. That girl... she had nearly pulled my hair out by it's roots last night. I noticed a few of my seeds were missing.

The kettle whistled.

Frowning, I poured myself a cup of caffeinated tea and stared blankly out through Genkai's kitchen window where the sun was just starting to peak over the trees.

There was a polite rap on the doorframe.

Eyes aflame with curiosity, I made my way to the living room to stand with the others. We watched as Genkai opened the sliding door.

A middle aged man - - tall, imposing, and with a hopeless air of superiority - - stood on the other side, hands shoved deep in the pockets of his formal suit pants. His fighter's build was concealed by a white, long-sleeved shirt of good quality material, buttoned all the way up to a place high on his neck. A plain, black tie hung loosely around the collar.

"Hey, you old hag, remember me?" he stated gruffly, with a cocky grin.

Master Genkai identified him immediately with a sharp look: "You're that punk kid who came whining to me about, what, twenty years ago, was it?" She blew out a puff of smoke through aged, wrinkled lips.

His smile didn't fade. "I'd say this 'punk kid' did pretty well for himself without your help, granny..." the man said, removing his hands from his pockets to light up a cigarette, "Where's the girl?" He shifted his stance slightly, almost impatiently.

Genkai jerked her head back to the hallway, indicating the converted broom cupboard where the girl was currently taking her repose.

Without hesitation, the man strode forward to retrieve her. As he passed, his steel-colored eyes spared us barely a glance, sliding like water from our faces.

What trouble had the girl gotten herself involved in now?

.

.

.

The smell of cigarette smoke stirred me from my heavy stupor and I turned over with a small groan. Why did I feel like I had just been run over by a small herd of elephants?

Someone was shaking my shoulder.

"Up you go, sweet," a deep voice commanded, far too loudly for my currently oversensitive senses. What the hell had gone on last night to make me feel so terrible now?

I forced my eyelids apart and looked up blearily; a face was swimming in my vision. The corners of my mouth tugged down in a frown. I felt like I'd seen this man before. A hazy face belonging to a man in a dark kimono floated somewhere in the back of my mind's eye. Beyond that, I couldn't remember much of anything. Some party, huh.

"Oo are you?" I croaked. Enma, was that really my voice?

"Call me 'Boss,'" the man answered, pulling back away from my face as he stood, "I'm here to train your fists. You pack a right hard wallop, for a girl."

"I'll pass," I declined, moaning. My body felt like a sack of potatoes; I didn't think I could move an inch, much less train for anything.

My eyes slid back shut. Apparently, 'Boss' wasn't going to take no for an answer, however, and I felt myself being lifted from the ground.

Oof. Something uncomfortably hard made impact with my stomach. Eyelids snapping open, I found he had slung me - - exactly like a sack of potatoes, come to think of it - - over his shoulder. One hand on my back to support me, he was now carrying me out of the room, whether I liked it or not.

"Put me down," I demanded groggily, pounding a fist once against his back. It was no use - - I just didn't have any energy. Giving up, I let myself slump over his shoulder as my head hung heavy. It was probably one of the most pathetic displays of resistance ever shown by womankind, but it was the best I could do at the moment.

My eyes closed defensively against the bright light that assaulted us as we left the dim hallway.

"What kind of a boss _are _you, anyway?" I grumbled, finally seeming to remember meeting him at the strange office party.

"A yakuza one," he responded simply.

"The'lls a yakuza?" exhaustion slurred my words.

His booming laughter pounded painfully against my eardrums. I opened my eyes slowly and realized with subdued embarrassment that everyone was standing around watching the scene. Only Hati and Koenma were missing, and Koenma was probably watching on the monitor in his office, laughing his toddler ass off.

"In America, I think you'd call 'em the mob... or something like that," he explained, trying to draw some sort of comparison I might understand.

"Yeah, 'cause I know a lot about American mob bosses," I muttered grumpily.

"Ha!" his laughter made me jump a little, "I should've gotten an American years ago! Are they all so entertaining?"

I ignored his questioning. My head felt like a rock. "Just set me down here and let me die," I groaned out.

The gang gave me flat looks, as if this were some kind of unreasonable request. They just didn't understand.

"No," the boss denied my request, clunking down the porch steps. I jostled uncomfortably where I hung, his muscular shoulder probably leaving a huge bruise right in the middle of my stomach.

He dumped me off roughly into the snow, which piled up in walls around the crater where I laid.

"So... bright..." I moaned, throwing an arm over my face to shield my eyes from the blinding sunlight.

"That seems to be quite the hangover," he said mildly, examining me.

Hangover? I'd been drunk at the party? Well, that would explain the hole in my memory at least. And the reason why I felt like I was dying.

"What are you doing here?" I responded, temples throbbing - - though whether from the supposed hangover or brain-freeze I couldn't tell.

"I already told you: train-ing," he enunciated the syllables.

"No, I mean, what are _you_ doing here, Mr. Boss man?" I grouched. Why should he bother training some girl he just met?

"I already told you, you have a powerful punch. Caused an impressive amount of damage last night... some of my boys won't walk straight for days, I'm sure... destroyed, oh, hundreds of US dollars worth of antiques," he ticked off the list.

I blanched behind my arm. Oh dear. He was probably very angry about that last bit. "Is that so... Well, if you're going to kill me, make it quick," I requested, still laying there in a vulnerable position.

From the porch, I heard someone facepalm. Their faces were probably incredulous. I wished I could see them without burning a hole in my retina.

He laughed at me: "I'm not going to kill you... although the training might." I grimaced.

"Don't you worry; I'll make a real fighter of you yet," I heard the distinct sound of cracking knuckles, "Up you go, now. It's time to get serious. Today is evasive maneuvering."

"Stop talking," I croaked desperately, lowering my arm as I opened an eye to peer up at him, "Can't you see I'm trying to die?" My throat was parched, my eyes burned from the light, my head felt like there was a whole colony of miners inside with their pickaxes, and my muscles weren't in any better shape. And let's not even talk about my back...

I watched him as he examined me silently. Without warning, the boss suddenly dove straight in, fist extended toward me.

My eyes nearly bugged out of my head, and I shot up faster than I had realized I was capable of - - 'cause let's face it, I hadn't really thought I was able to move at all.

I scrambled to my feet, but it was short-lived. Like a falling tree, I came crashing to the ground, raising an explosion of snowy powder around me. Looking down, I noticed that I wore only one heel and an eyebrow shot up under my purple bangs disbelievingly.

"Hey!" I barked at him, kicking the spare shoe off, and raising myself to stand on my two very bare - - now very cold - - feet. "You wanna cut me some slack here? You can't just attack a girl first thing in the morning! Jeez... can't a girl with a hangover get any beauty rest?" I shook my heavy head.

"Beauty rest? Ha!" he put his hands on his hips as he laughed, "You don't need any beauty rest." The boss smiled in a disarming way.

I stared at him flatly from across the snow. Seriously? I was positive that by now my hair was a fright - - if it wasn't to begin with. I had spent the night in rumpled clothes, probably had dark circles under my bloodshot eyes, and I was currently covered head to toe in melting snow.

"Well, that's just great," I shot him a sliver of a smile, "There really is no hope for me then?" I said with dark sarcasm.

"I could compliment you all day, sweet, but now really isn't the time for chit chat. Get ready now!" he switched suddenly to a serious fight mode, running back in at me, fists held dangerously.

Sweet, huh? I thought as I narrowly dodged, and decided my best bet lay simply in running. It sounded like a generic sort of nickname; I doubted he meant anything by it. And it wasn't creepy, like _some_ other person I didn't care to think about at the moment.

I couldn't help but move sluggishly. He caught me with a fist and I went down, eating a mouthful of snow. I'd never liked snowcones much to begin with, but I'd eaten my fair share of disappointingly flavorless ones in the past few days. Now I really didn't enjoy them any longer.

I spit the snow out, gagging, and blew warm breath on my freezing tongue to thaw it.

Looking over my shoulder at the boss, wondering why he hadn't attacked yet, I saw him scratching his chin thoughtfully.

"What?" I asked dumbly.

"I was so certain you could do better than that. Hm... yes. I expect you just need the proper motivation..." he muttered to himself.

I opened my mouth: "Wha - - "

From seemingly out of nowhere, he whipped out a very large gun. Holy!

With a strangled yelp, I jumped out of the way of a spray of bullets, diving behind the nearest bush, scraping half my skin off in the process. I wrapped my bare arms protectively around my head.

"HEY! You wanna watch where you're pointing that thing? You're seriously going to kill me, you know!" I popped over the top of the bush to shout indignantly up at him.

"If you can still talk, you're not concentrating hard enough!" he bellowed back as he loosed another round.

Jingle bells, lots of shells, stupid snowy spray. Merry Christmas... to me.

I ran, tripping, scrambling, jumping, as I darted about through the snow. With a hint of bitterness, I noticed my teammates watching from the porch. Most had wide, shocked eyes to match mine, but they were still unmoving. Thanks for all the help, guys.

I bet I couldn't even use any of my energy against the guy without breaking some stupid Reikai law of supernatural secrecy... not that I knew how to unlock it at the moment anyway.

Finally, the firing stopped. I turned, hopefully, panting. He seemed to have run out of bullets. With a shrug, the boss tossed the gun aside where it fell into the snow, already littered with paths of holes that made it look like some kind of Frankenstein ground cover.

He didn't give up, however, advancing with his hands held menacingly away from his buff sides. I didn't have to see his muscles to know they were tensed. He sprinted toward me - - the frighteningly fast cheetah chasing the gawking gazelle.

I dashed up onto the porch, grabbing the person nearest me to use as a shield.

"Eeeee!" I shrieked, holding the body out in front of me, "Take him instead!" Belatedly, I noticed my fingers clutched around black cloth. My jaw hung open in horror.

The fire apparition turned his head to glare scathingly at me. I dropped his cloak as if I'd been burned.

"Eep!" I exclaimed, jumping back, "I mean... take Yusuke instead!" I tried offering up a different boy.

"Hey!" the punk yelled indignantly over his shoulder at me.

But the boss didn't even seem to notice the boy; he only had eyes for me.

I gaped as he sprang up, staring frozen like a deer in the headlights. Why wasn't he stopping? Couldn't he see I was holding a spectator hostage?

The man crashed into the room, and Yusuke shoved me roughly out of the way, barely managing to dodge himself. I was flung across the floor in the opposite direction as the spirit detective.

I looked up and noticed the leg of a chair right by my head. It would have to do.

Getting a tight grip on the wooden leg as I stood, I raised the chair high above my head, aiming for the boss.

My muscles strained as I put my whole back behind the thrust, gathering speed as I swung my arm forward.

"Not the furniture!" Genkai bellowed from somewhere nearby.

"Gak!" my mouth popped open in surprise. It was too late to retract my arm. The momentum of the flying chair twisted through me, taking my whole body with it on an unexpected trip across the room.

My back hit the wall. "Oof!" I grunted as my gut unintentionally cushioned the chair leg against the rough impact.

"That was..." wheeze, "Stupid." My teeth clenched and I hissed, pushing the chair away as I clambered to my feet.

I lifted the edge of my blouse to examine the dark purple bruise that was already spreading.

Hey! Who cut off my light source. I was using that...

I looked up, uncomprehending to see a fist headed straight for my head. Screaming, I dropped to the floor. His blow struck the wall hard, shaking the building. Fortunately, the whole temple was made of wood - - it wouldn't break so easily.

Otherwise, Genkai might just kill us herself. Not that _I_ asked for any of this training in the first place.

He reached down and picked me up by the collar, tossing my back out into the snow roughly, leaving a clear trail in my wake.

And so my questionable "training" continued.

"Too slow!" he would yell, fist making contact with a rib.

Or: "Protect your head! Don't let your opponent get so close!" as he chop-blocked me on the crown.

And my favorite: "Be a man! Your enemy isn't going to wait for you to fix your hair." Okay, number one, I'm not a man. Number two, I was just trying to free the annoying strands from the bush they were currently caught on.

But, breathless as I was, I didn't have resources to waste on witty retorts. I was so focused on dodging, that I couldn't even get a punch in edgewise. It was awful.

Eventually, I couldn't evade any longer, and he got a particularly nasty blow in, right between my ribs. I thought for a second that my lungs would collapse, but they held. I was knocked backward as I toppled over; all my energy suddenly left me.

Feeling like hamburger meat, I just laid on my back in the snow. I had never gotten to fight back. Not once.

The boss cracked his neck. He looked down at me, lighting up a cigarette. "Well, that's enough for one day. I'll be back tomorrow," he declared in a cheerfully ominous way, "See you soon, sweet!"

Tomorrow? You've gotta be kidding me.

.

.

.

The training was, admittedly, brutal. I was certain the girl couldn't be pleased with the idea of continuing.

We looked on in stunned silence long after the man descended the temple steps.

Finally, with much effort, the girl pulled her body up out of the snowy crater and dragged herself up onto the porch. She walked, ghost-like, to the kitchen, muttering: "I'm going to die... I'm going to die..." with wide, haunted eyes.

She didn't even seem to see us, brushing against Kuwabara's sleeve as she passed by too close.

"I have to admit..." Yusuke finally spoke, "That training was just as frightening as what you put me through, you old hag." He shuddered briefly.

"Hmph," master Genkai grunted, "Showoff. Being flashy won't get him anywhere when it comes to training real pupils." Perhaps she didn't think so, but I wasn't so sure. Certainly, the training was already taking its toll on Friday, but... it could be effective. Only time would tell.

"What was he doing?" Keiko suddenly shouted, breaking out of an almost trance-like state, fists clenched hysterically in front of her, "He could have seriously hurt Friday! She didn't even ask for this! How can that kind of thing be okay? It's... it's abuse!" Actually, that was a rather apt observation.

Genkai seemed indifferent. She took a long drag of her cigarette, only stating enigmatically, "And that is why you never celebrate Christmas with the yakuza..."

.

.

.

"Hey, Genkai?" I asked, subdued. The old psychic, Yukina, and I sat around the table with our tea. Everyone else had left long ago. A towel was draped over my hair, still damp from the warm shower I'd just finished taking.

"Hm?" she grunted.

"Who exactly is the boss? It seems like you two knew each other," I questioned hesitantly.

She sighed gruffly, crossing her arms: "Years ago, the dimwit wouldn't stop bothering me. That old goat, Larry, must have told him to come find me, since he just wouldn't take no for an answer... Anyway, I gave him a few lessons so he would go away and turned him loose on the street."

"And he did _that_ with just a few lessons? You're like a genius teacher, Genkai," my eyes went wide as I contemplated the little I knew about the yakuza organization. To attain the title of "Boss" so young... well, it was impressive, to say the least.

Genkai just grunted, uncomfortable with the praise.

"The problem with being almost famous, kid, is that you get a lot of imitators," the old master grumped.

"And Larry-ojiisan and Boss-san are two imitator teachers, then?" Yukina cut in curiously.

"Well, you could say that," she sighed, "You could've done worse, kid. At least those two are fighters - - even if they don't know much about teaching - - and tough ones at that... You'll be alright." Genkai said decidedly, and resumed sipping her tea.

Well, I supposed that was reassuring. If I was going to be a guinea pig for mock scientists, at least they knew _something_ about the field. I had a lot to learn... and we all know beggars can't be choosers.

.

.

.

"Your stance is too stiff. Loosen up. Think like a street fighter," the Boss told me.

I corrected my position accordingly, but he still managed to send my flying with a well-placed punch that I was, unfortunately, too slow to avoid.

For a human with no supernatural energy to speak of, he sure was fast... and dangerous.

"Why are you doing this, anyway?" I demanded, pushing myself up onto my hands and knees in the ever-deepening snowdrift.

"Life gets boring when you can have everything you want. You're the most amusing thing out there right now," the boss said, cocking his head with a lopsided smile.

I studied him in his thin, jacket-less suit jealously. Didn't he ever get cold? Day after day, he'd dragged me out here in my fleece-lined jacket and I was still certain I'd get hypothermia any time now. But he was always so casual and completely unaffected whatever the weather.

"Gee thanks," I said bitingly. Why did it sound like someone was thinking of me as some kind of toy again? Was it just paranoia?

"You don't look like you believe me," he observed sharply, feigning insult. He strode over to the place where I was sitting in the snow. Oh yeah... as for the training... it should be obvious from my freezing rear end that it wasn't really improving much.

He blew nicotine-tainted smoke out into the frosty air, and I frowned. Embarrassingly, every day after the first he'd carried around a lit cigarette, just to show he could afford to multitask in this fight, like I wasn't even worth his full concentration. Most of the time, he only used one arm and still managed to pound me into the ground.

"You're a smart girl," he said, grabbing my chin, "Free help is never free." A strange glint appeared in his eyes as they bored into mine.

My jaw hung slack. What had just happened? The boss wasn't _that_ kind of guy, I was almost certain of it. Just what was he trying to imply here?

The stunned look still adorning my face, he bent closer. Our noses were nearly touching. I blinked.

"Get back... pervert!" I shouted, suddenly going ballistic as I sent him flying backward through the air.

He stood up from his mound of snow, shaking himself off. Oddly, he chuckled. "Only kidding, sweet... I knew you could pack a punch," his sporadic laugher continued. The boss put out his cigarette.

That stupid jerk! He had just been trying to get a rise out of me, probably to get me to come closer to my full potential. I clenched my fists. Now, I had a reason to be mad. And with energy fueled by negative emotion, I was sure I'd get him this time.

I pounded my fist into my hand. No more of this sissy evasive crap. I was going on the offensive now. Narrowing my eyes, I charged forward.

We locked in combat. His fists tried to beat me back. I slid a little, but held my ground, returning the favor. In such close proximity, it was a bit intimidating, trying to knock out someone so tall, but I did my best.

After all, what was he to be scared of, compared to the other things I'd seen?

Somehow, amid the punches, I shifted my attack stance. It was strangely natural, as if it was what my body had subconsciously wanted to do all along. I'd never really cared much for punching; it simply wasn't something I excelled at.

Instead of pushing forward against the rock-hard wall of his abdomen with my knuckles, my fingers curled back, and I drove the heel of my palm into the white fabric of his shirt with as much strength as I could muster.

The blow struck so hard that he lost his footing, and went sliding back through the snow. It appeared that my fingernails had unintentionally torn his nice shirt during the exchange, and I bit my lip, feeling a little sorry about that. It was probably an expensive shirt, I knew, and I hadn't really meant to damage it - - in addition to all his other possessions I'd destroyed already.

A flutter of fabric. Bright colors flashed before my eyes, breaking the monotony of the landscape. I couldn't help my feet as they moved forward.

"Are those...?" I began curiously, coming toward him.

"Oi! Don't look!" he barked, turning and trying to cover it up with a hand.

"Why?" I pouted.

"It's not just something anyone can see!" he told me gruffly, "You're not a yakuza, are you, girl?"

I felt a hurt look creep over my face at his angry tone. He took a deep, steadying breath and sighed.

"Fine then..." he muttered, giving in. The boss turned toward me and unbuttoned the torn remains of his shirt. He slipped the garment off and it was lost in the matching white of the snow.

I gaped, eyes going wide. So many tattoos. They were more impressive than any I'd seen, even among my foggy memory of the gamblers at the party. The intricate pattern and those colors... exquisite.

I examined it - - perhaps too close - - practically pressing my nose up against his skin. "So much detail! This must have taken forever..." I said in awe. My eyes trailed downward as I realized that the design continued below the top of his suit pants.

"So curious... Should I remove those too or will you jump on me?" he joked, and I jerked my head back, suddenly realizing just how rude I was being, "Although... you don't look like you'd mind repaying the free help too much now, sweet." His eyes crinkled with mild humor, and he winked, reassuring me that he still wasn't actually serious.

"I don't date smokers," I told him anyway, hands on hips, "Besides, you're what... like twenty years older than me? I don't date old men."

"You don't date anyone, sounds like," he commented lightly.

My lips quirked up in a wry smile, "True."

He looked up at the sun: "It's getting late. We should finish our training."

"Are you kidding? You're expecting me to punch a living canvas. Forget it," I declared loudly, crossing my arms. Anything to get out of training.

"You're going to have to... unless you want the canvas to punch you," he warned me as he decided on his own to resume the training.

How come I never got a say in these things?

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**AN: Apologies for the strange perspective on the yakuza. Admittedly, they were largely based off whatever I remembered from watching the J-drama of Gokusen (many years ago), and as such are almost entirely inaccurate, I'm sure. But please accept my twisted interpretation anyway. I did some research to help lend authenticity, but even the wikipedia article made my head spin (lazy research, I know, but who doesn't love wikipedia?). Maybe I'll read a book on it someday instead...? And yes, I am aware that Yakuza bosses aren't as friendly as I've made mine out to be. He's supposed to be a bit unusual, as already displayed by his "young" age. What, did you expect? A normal person to teach Friday? C'mon.**

I still have a deviantart account where I will be posting some pictures of characters, etc... to go with this story. Check it out if you want. I'm theanonymouspen . deviantart . com (no spaces)

**Update to deviantart!** Click theanonymouspen . deviantart #/d57wilm to see a "really, really ridiculously good looking" picture of Larry and the Boss.

**Side note:** I just discovered Ellie Goulding and her totally amazing songs have helped me through writing about 50 pages so far. Wow! I had to buy her whole album, which is rare for me. Highly recommended.

Thank you for reading :)

**If you want to meet an awesome new character...**

**Please REVIEW!**


	26. Honor!

**Hmm... I was going to update sooner, but I wasn't sure if all my regular readers had gotten a chance to finish the last chapter. What happened to all my faithful reviewers? Did the Boss scare you guys away? :'( Anywho... I will now assume you've read it and post the next chapter. It even has two pages extra compared to my normal amount. You're welcome.**

**Thank you to those of you who did review :]**

**_Angel of Randomosity:_ Glad to see you, at least weren't put off by the Boss. He has good intentions even if his teaching methods are rather questionable. :/**

**_bbst_: A new reader? *_heart*_ (Don't worry, old readers. I still love you too...) Don't worry; I plan on continuing. (But reviews make me write faster... ;] )**

**_Guest:_ Well, I would assume the reason why they didn't help her out is 'cause it _is_ training, after all. I don't think they'd expect her to be killed (though with his lessons, you do wonder). At least Keiko had a semi-normal reaction, maybe? You'll get more bits and snippets of her training with the Boss, don't worry. :]**

_**. . .**_

"_**B**etter to be strong than pretty and useless**." ― Lilith Saintcrow**_

_**. . .**_

It was early. So early, in fact, that the boss still hadn't shown up to torture, i.e. "train" me. I swore I was getting bruises on my bruises. Muttering to myself, I rubbed said sore spots.

There was a muffled clattering nearby, and I cocked my head to listen. Following the noises down the hallway, they led me to the kitchen.

I watched from the doorway for a moment, surveying the scene before me. Poor Yukina. She was so short she could barely get the cups down from the shelves. Arm stretched out as far as it could go, she hopped, trying to get a box of tea down from the topmost shelf.

I shook my head, walking over: "Here, I can get that."

One hand went to her heart reflexively as she spun around. "Oh! You startled me," she exclaimed and smiled in greeting, "Good morning, Kuronosuke-san."

I waved my hand at her, telling her for the umpteenth time: "Just Friday is fine."

I raised my arm... And came about a foot short of the shelf. Laughing awkwardly, I tried pushing myself up onto my tiptoes. Still short. I waved my hand back and forth furiously as if that would make it stretch. "Ungh... nnnggh!" Oh, for crying out loud! I wasn't even that short; my height was fairly average as far as women go.

"This is just embarrassing," a gravelly voice spoke up from the hall. I jumped, caught off guard, and turned my head to look at the old psychic, peeved.

"Yeah, I'd like to see you do better," I retorted. Really... the nerve! And she was the shortest one here too.

Precariously, I balanced with a knee on the counter and stretched up, hands reaching into the stuffed contents of the shelf as I tried to work the box free.

A roaring noise accompanied by the sound of tinkling glass assaulted my eardrums, making my hair stand on end: "I'LL GET YOU FOR SURE THIS TIME!" My eyes went wide. Something extremely hard bore down on me from the direction of the now-decimated kitchen window, wiping me off the counter.

Boxes - - the entire contents of the shelf - - crashed down around myself and the unidentified flying object.

There was a growling shout from somewhere near my head and I rolled out of the way.

An arm that belonged to someone who saw a lot of sun shot by my ear, grazing my hair in its passing.

I twisted, catching a flash of an orange-red mane in my peripherals.

Run. My legs burst into motion. But something entrapped them in a vice-like grip, and I fell forward, catching myself on my hands and knees as I went down.

From my uncomfortable position, I tried to turn my head to look behind me.

A boy - - around my age - - was scowling up at me with angry brown eyes, arms locked around my knees. He, too, had joined me on the floor.

"Who the heck are you and what do you think you're doing?" I growled over my shoulder at him.

His teeth ground together with an audible crack. The boy looked ready to kill.

I swear, if this was someone the boss had sent to "train" me...

"You know exactly who I am!" the boy yelled, swinging me around by my legs and letting go. I flew toward the nearest wall at breakneck speed, but flipped to right myself and crouched as I landed, skidding backward to a halt.

If the boss thought one of his minions would get the better of me, he was wrong.

"I've never seen you before in my life!" I shouted back, now very nearly as angry as he appeared to be.

"Bullshit!" he exclaimed loudly, rushing in.

I pushed off from the ground, using his face as a stepping stool as I passed lightly over his head.

This did not improve his mood.

"I don't know who you think you are, but you're acting like a bull in a china shop. Please get out before you break anything else," I ordered on Genkai's behalf.

"You want me to take this outside..." he growled, hunched over, "Fine! LET'S GO!" His head snapped up suddenly.

He sprinted toward me. I sidestepped quickly, opening the door for him as he half-fell out into the snow.

"Maybe that'll cool you off," I told him casually, sauntering towards him.

He pushed himself up to all fours in the snow, shaking like a dog - - the rabid kind that you don't want to meet in a back alley somewhere.

"Now, spill. Who are you and what are you doing here?" I repeated my earlier demands.

He leapt to his feet, glaring daggers. "Don't play dumb!" he shouted, "You know you've seen this face." The boy pointed to his tanned cheeks.

"Mmmm..." I studied him closer, racking my brain.

"Nope! I don't think I have," I finally declared genially.

He nearly blew his top, his face heating so much in anger that you could've boiled tea on it.

"LIAR!" he pointed, accusingly, "I will defeat you, and then I'll have my honor back!"

Well, I guess that answered what he was doing here, even if he hadn't answered the "who." And it brought up an entirely new question of "why."

I rubbed the back of my neck, "Jeez..."

The idiot was chasing after me again. I dodged. After fighting with the boss, it was a piece of cake.

"It looks like you've started without me," a voice boomed cheerfully from the steps. Speak of the devil...

He waved a hand in greeting: "Yo."

I shot the boss a glare. "Did you send this freak?" I asked, sidestepping another wild punch.

"No..." the boss replied. He looked amused. I narrowed my eyes at him, trying to penetrate his thoughts. It didn't work.

"Shimabukuro!" the boss bellowed across the field, causing the young man to stop in his tracks, fist raised. He had this deeply shocked look on his face as if he hadn't even noticed the presence of anyone besides the two of us up until that moment.

"So... It has a name," I muttered.

"B-B-Boss!" he stuttered, coming to attention, "My deepest apologies for coming here without your permission!" He bowed in a crouching position, hands on knees as he lowered his head respectfully; the boy held perfectly still as he awaited his boss' response.

The boss shrugged. "Since you are here already, Shimabukuro, I have a job for you."

"I will do it, Boss!" Shimabukuro affirmed, not even knowing what it was yet. That's dedication. I, on the other hand, trusted the boss about as far as I could throw him... which wasn't far.

The boss called the boy over, unloading a large bag from his shoulder. Huddled together, he gave instructions in a low voice. My ears itched to hear them, but I was too far away.

I watched curiously as Shimabukuro toted the bag over to the center of the field and turned to face me.

"What is it?" I asked.

Shimabukuro opened the drawstring and dug around in the concealed depths.

The boss answered me with the training specials of the day: "Today is projectiles."

"Projectiles?" I asked dumbly.

A spherical object whizzed past my head. I swallowed a shout and twisted out of the path of yet another incoming projectile.

"Don't get hit!" the boss shouted his delayed warning from a safe distance away.

The first object had crashed to a halt. My gaze flickered over to it. A baseball? I wasn't given much time to contemplate this, however, as a whole flock of them flew by. It was an uncomfortably close escape.

My eyes caught sight of the evil grin that adorned Shimabukuro's face. He was enjoying himself! That jerk...

"Hey!" I shouted, enraged, "What did I ever do to you?" My fists clenched and unclenched at my sides. Another round passed by in a flurry.

"Oh? You don't remember wiping the floor with him at the Christmas party?" The tone of mild surprise in the boss' voice was probably feigned.

I gaped with real shock, turning my head to look back at the brash boy. As I did so, a ball struck me straight in the middle of my forehead, so hard it actually flung me back onto my rear end in the snow. The ball tumbled to my lap, and I rubbed my skin where I was sure a red mark had developed. Ouch. That hurt, dammit.

Alright, that was too far! You don't go around throwing hard objects at girls' faces just 'cause they don't remember meeting you at a party... true, I had apparently shamed him past redeeming at said party, but since it wasn't really my fault for forgetting due to my formerly inebriated condition... he should cut me some slack.

I made sure to evade every single other ball he threw at me, no matter how hard that was to do, or how stupid I looked while doing it.

The bag eventually emptied and the exercise - - probably a warmup, I grumbled to myself, if the boss had anything to say about it - - ended with both of us panting hard, glaring at each other. I bent over, hands on knees.

"Well, that was a decent warmup," the boss announced, clapping his hands together once, "On to the real challenge." I knew it.

"Shimabukuro," he looked down at the boy with an uncharacteristically serious expression, "You were disgraced in front of the entire family. If you want to remain a yakuza, you _will_ beat this girl here by sundown. That shouldn't be too hard, should it?" The boss closed his eyes, shutting out Shimabukuro's dumbfounded expression, and smiled unconcernedly, lighting up a cigarette.

"Boss!" Shimabukuro protested.

"Begin!" the boss declared, ignoring the boy completely. Cold... the yakuza may be an organization, but they still _called_ themselves a family.

I felt a twinge of pity for the unfortunate boy.

"Who are you looking at like that?" Shimabukuro growled, face contorting in rage as his eyes caught my expression. He pounded his fists together and lunged, trying to catch me off guard.

It didn't work. I couldn't help being faster than him. I couldn't help it that I could dodge every blow.

But even though I dodged, I couldn't bring myself to strike back at the desperate boy.

If I didn't lose... he would lose everything.

Well, why not make myself lose? This was, after all, just training to me.

I braced myself; this would probably hurt...

The blow landed and it stung... but he was no boss. Lucky me. I let myself cry out anyway.

"Hey! I saw that!" the boss barked at me from nearby, his sharp eyes seeing right through me.

I frowned. So he knew I was bluffing.

Sorry, Shimabukuro...

.

.

.

"Is all of that clear?" Koenma questioned the wolf as they sat alone in his office.

Hati nodded his dark grey head solemnly.

"Good. Please call Friday here, then," the young ruler dismissed the immortal.

Hati slipped past Kurama - - the only member of the Reikai Tantei that was actually on time for their meeting, naturally - - who was just entering the office, and trotted down the hall.

Out of the corner of his silver eye, he caught sight of a blue head of hair rushing off down another hallway, muttering with great irritation. "Honestly! Why can't these boys _ever_ show up when their supposed to? They act like it's a game of hide and seek all the time! And I'm always the one who has to go off and find them!" it said.

He barely spared the ferry girl a glance as he turned away down a deserted corridor.

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.

.

The changing orange sky overhead heralded the closing of a day.

Hati looked on, nonplussed, at the scene in front of him.

The Sleeper he had been sent to find and a couple of human ruffians were fighting in the middle of Genkai's large backyard. Or, to be precise, one of the human ruffians was in the skirmish; the other was simply standing aside, having a smoke.

Friday and the first human male were crashing about loudly with great shouts and a lot of fancy fist-work that more often than not contacted only air. Come to think of it, he didn't see Friday initiate a single attack.

The wolf frowned and tried to catch her attention.

For a moment, it seemed like she looked in his direction, but if she saw the wolf, she ignored him.

Hati growled deep in his throat. He wanted to shout and bring her to attention, but he couldn't speak in front of these non-supernaturally inclined mortals.

With an irritated sigh, the wolf turned back to go fetch someone who could talk in their vicinity.

He returned a few minutes later with Kurama, who had been rather bored sitting in Koenma's office waiting for the others while the toddler prince stamped furiously at the oversized mounds of paperwork that cluttered his entire desk.

"We are gathering for the meeting now!" the redhead called across the snow to her.

She looked up with an annoyed frown: "Can't you see I'm a little busy at the moment?" A fist sailed past her head, stealing her attention away.

"It's important," Kurama tried again.

The girl ignored him, as the crimson light of sunset poured in fast. Simultaneously, the wolf and the spirit fox sighed. Kurama crossed his arms, resigning himself to wait.

Hati, eager to get going, remained standing at attention.

Fortunately for his sanity, he wouldn't have to wait long.

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.

.

"And... stop!" the boss commanded, walking forward as the last red rays faded over the horizon.

"No!" the boy cried out, only with a great effort of will staying his trembling fists "How? It can't... end this way..." Shimabukuro dropped to his knees in the snow, the picture of hopelessness.

"Give him another chance!" I pleaded on his behalf, "Family doesn't give up on each other, just like that!"

"You're not one of the family, girl. Don't interfere," the boss addressed me coldly.

Shimabukuro hung his head in shame.

"Well, it seems you're just an Okinawan pretty boy after all..." the boss mused lightly. What was he doing? How could he sound amused when poor Shimabukuro looked like a newly-orphaned street kid?

"That's not - - !" Shimabukuro started to protest loudly, but his words cut off as he shut down, slumping in on himself.

The seconds ticked by in silence. This was all just too sad...

I vaguely remembered someone trying to get my attention earlier and looked up. The wolf and the redhead were still there, watching in subdued confusion.

"Well, it's getting late..." the boss announced finally, "Let's go home, Shimabukuro."

The boy looked up dumbly with an expression to match mine. "What?" he asked slowly. What indeed?

"You didn't think I was serious, did you? Oh dear..." he said in mild concern - - probably faking it again, "I had to get you to try your best. What better way to play than with high stakes?" the boss laughed, amused at his own sick scheme.

"You mean... it was all a game?" Shimabukuro gaped up at his boss.

"Are you going to just sit there in the snow or are you coming along?" the boss started to walk away. Shimabukuro scrambled to his feet.

"That's cruel," I said aloud, shaking my head at the boss' antics.

Shimabukuro didn't even spare me a backwards glance as he ran after his boss, following his deep footsteps in the snow.

I sighed, scratching my head. Well, glad that worked out for you, Shimabukuro...

"Now that that's out of the way... whatever _that_ was," Hati spoke up, annoyed, "Will you _please_ just come with us."

"Let me get a jacket," I grumbled, realizing I had been out all day in the snow with no protective clothing. Well, I had been keeping myself warm with all that running about, so hopefully I wouldn't get sick again...

"Hurry," Hati insisted, pushing me through the door with his nose.

.

.

.

"Jeez, Botan. I _told _you we didn't have to rush. Friday isn't even here yet," Yusuke grumbled as he entered the office.

"Actually, I _am_ here, Yusuke," I said as the three of us walked up behind him.

Secretly, I was very pleased that I had landed on my feet again on the other side of the portal instead of falling on my face in front of everyone, but I kept the smug smile from my lips.

"So, what's this very important meeting about, Koenma?" I asked the young ruler, plopping down on the couch by Yusuke and Kuwabara.

"I'm sending all of you out on a mission," Koenma replied, pushing his papers aside as he grew serious, folding his hands on the desk in front of him.

"I thought we were already _on_ a mission," Yusuke retorted, crossing his arms grumpily.

"Well, yes, but I'm sending you _out_ on a mission," the toddler prince clarified, "Hopefully, two days will be enough time to investigate and deal with the problem."

"And when would these two days take place?" the ever-polite redhead spoke up.

"Great... an overnight trip," Yusuke grumbled at the same time.

Koenma ignored the spirit detective's comment, supplying an answer to Kurama's question instead: "You have one day to prepare and come up with a suitable alibi - - for those of you who will be needing one."

An alibi? ... Oh my goodness. Could it be? ... NO TRAINING! For two whole days!

I considered simply not telling the boss that I would be gone. I could just picture his dumbstruck expression when he showed up to continue the torture and found instead that I wasn't there. Ohoho.

A wide, devilish grin spread across my face.

I caught Kurama staring at me strangely from the corner of my eye and turned to look at him.

My grin slipped into a small frown. "What?" I demanded quietly, as the others continued their conversation - - which mainly consisted of Yusuke grumbling, Botan telling him to quit being such a baby, and Koenma taking offense to the rude comparison to babies.

"Nothing," Kurama declined to tell me what he was thinking.

"Hmm," I gave him a long, narrow look before shrugging and turning away.

Well, I guess I should tell the boss I'd be gone... after all, he _was_ going pretty far out of his way to come teach me, and for free at that.

"No, sir. Of course I didn't mean to imply that babies are slackers," Botan pacified the raging, young lord.

I interrupted his screaming rampage - - which was quite honestly unintelligible by this point - - to ask about some specifics: "Koenma!" he stopped mid-yell, and I lowered my voice to a more polite tone, "What exactly do we have to bring with us?"

"Just show up with yourself and whatever you're going to sleep on... though I guess in your case you don't have to bring anything of the sort," he chuckled a little at the joke.

"Tactful..." I murmured with a flat look, not amused.

He continued on, not acting as though he'd heard me, "Nothing special. Although you'd probably want to bring a toothbrush."

"Great... I'll keep that in mind," I grumbled. How could a mission from spirit world sound so... mundane.

"Just remember that whatever you bring you'll have to carry with you the whole way," Koenma reminded everyone.

"Wait a second. What do you mean 'the whole way?'" Yusuke questioned, "Aren't you just going to dump us out at the other end of a portal like usual?"

"Hmm... perhaps I should explain the reason why I'm sending you in the first place. That should help answer your question," the young ruler stroked his chin thoughtfully.

Stupid. I had been so busy wondering what to bring with me that I'd completely forgotten we didn't even know what the mission was yet. What did I think this was? A hiking trip?

"Botan, please pull up the chart," Koenma requested.

"Right away, sir," Botan affirmed and went about pushing buttons until a complicated graph popped up on the screen. The writing was in Japanese. But of course. Somehow I doubted I would've been able to understand it regardless. Like most things Koenma showed us, it's main purpose was probably just to lend an authoritative front to his information.

"We've been picking up strange signals from a remote forest location for the past few days now..." he indicated a couple sections with a pointer. Energy charts... typical. "For the most part, it seems to be demonic energy - - and lots of it," he looked very seriously at us.

I waved a hand to get his attention. "Um... so if it's demon energy... why exactly do you need me?" I asked reluctantly, loathing to remind them of my uselessness in that particular category.

"A good question," Hiei cut in rudely, "For that matter, why not just send the detective? It's not like he can't handle a demon or two on his own. There's no need for all of us to waste our time on weaklings."

Koenma rubbed his temples: "Hiei, there is enough energy being emitted from that area to give us serious cause for concern. It may be a group of lower-level demons, but there is always the possibility that it is an upper class one. And who knows, having one more person could make all the difference...

"And, Friday, it's true you might not be needed this time. But Reikai is worried that these demons may be in the service of Tsuki-Yomi. You see, when one powerful opponent appears, it is very rare for another to simultaneously arise. Usually, large events that occur near to each other chronologically are actually part of the same case.

"Also... the only energy emissions we are sensing are demonic, however..." the toddler stared straight into my eyes with an intense look, "There is a large bubble of interference acting against our signal. It could very well be something caused by the immortals. That is also the reason why we can't send a portal directly to the site - - if we could even pinpoint exactly where it is to begin with."

"Oh," was all I could think of to say. My brow furrowed, taking this in.

Koenma continued, "We will be sending you - - the four members of the Reikai Tantei and Friday - - to investigate the area. Once you are in, you're on your own. I trust that if you find anything you will take care of it."

"Of course!" Kuwabara assured him, "This is the Reikai Tantei you're talking about... er, and Friday."

"Thanks, Kuwabara," I mumbled, half-sarcastically.

"Well, if that's all, I'll be going now!" Yusuke announced cheerfully, jumping up, "See you tomorrow, Koenma!" What had gotten into him? The punk was Botan-status chipper all of a sudden.

"Not so fast, Yusuke! You're still going out on a mission tonight..." Koenma caught the detective mid-stride with his sharp gaze before the boy could make it to the door.

"Aww, damn. Almost worked that time," Yusuke muttered to himself, shoving his hands into deep pockets as his shoulders slumped.

"Can't we ever get a break?" Kuwabara voiced our group's mutual thought.

"Of course you can, Kuwabara," the prince of spirit world assured him.

"Really?" he replied, hopeful.

Koenma nodded, "When the case is closed."

Kuwabara fell off the couch in surprise: "But that could take months!" he popped up, protesting loudly.

"If that's what it takes, then that's what it takes. Remember, _I_ didn't ask for the end of the world," the toddler responded.

"Yeah, yeah, Pacifier Breath," Yusuke grumbled, "Let's just get out there and clean up the streets, get it over with."

He made it sound like we were some kind of janitors. Team 'Nightmare Janitors,' unite!

Right... get it over with. I sighed as I stood and followed him out the door, stifling a yawn as I went.

Man, all that leaping and jumping about with Shimabukuro earlier had really tired me out. I just hoped I wouldn't run into Rikyu tonight. I didn't think I could handle him right now...

.

.

.

Luck was with me, apparently. The night's events went by without a hitch. Rikyu didn't appear, I didn't get stuck pairing up with Kurama, and Hati didn't complain about my lack of spiritual sensitivity - - well, not _too_ much, at least. In other words, life was good.

I hummed a bit as I packed a bag for tomorrow's trip. Toothbrush, toothpaste, bar of face soap, deodorant, change of clothes...? No. It's not like I needed pajamas or anything of the sort anyway, and I was sure I would get plenty dirty enough within an hour of changing, so why bother?

I shrugged and looked down into the meager contents of the bag. Uh... the four small items sat all by their lonesome at the bottom of the dark abyss. The bag probably weighed more than they did.

Well, no point in taking that with me then. I ditched the bag, transferring its contents to a warm jacket I was going to bring along to use at night.

"Friday!" someone called me through the temple walls.

Ah, just the person I wanted to see.

"Friiiiiid - - Ah. There you are," the boss said as he shoved the door open and spotted me, "What are you doing?"

"Packing," I informed him gleefully, turning around to face him with a smug look.

"Oh, really," he crossed his arms, "Packing for what?" His eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"I'll be out of town the next two days. Just thought I'd let you know so we can postpone the training," I grinned up at him.

"Well, best get started then," he rubbed his hands together, "Come along."

"What?" my grin dropped, "Did you just hear a word I said?"

"Of course. You said you wouldn't be around for training the next couple of days. That means I'd better push you extra hard today... so you don't get soft while you're gone," he stated. I groaned.

"But..." I looked around for an excuse, "I'm in the middle of packing."

He peered skeptically down at my sparse pile of supplies. "That looks strenuous," he said sarcastically, "Are you sure you don't want help?"

I scowled up at him.

"Your toothbrush will still be there tonight. Come on," he grabbed my wrist and dragged me out back despite my protests.

.

**AN: I really, really hope you guys end up liking Shima-kun as much as I do! He overreacts to everything, but he has a good side, I promise. :] Plus, he _was_ feeling pretty overwhelmed and out of sorts in this chapter. In other words, please forgive him for being under the weather...**

**I will be awaiting your reviews with bated breath. (But not quite as creepily as that makes it sound...) **

I still have a deviantart account where I will be posting some pictures of characters, etc... to go with this story. Check it out if you want. I'm theanonymouspen . deviantart . com (no spaces)

**Another update to deviantart!** (**Wow**) Go to: theanonymouspen . deviantart #/d58dlq1 to see Shima-kun in all his glory. (But don't forget to review please!)

Thank you for reading :)

**The mission... coming soon to a screen near you. (As soon as you review).**

**Please REVIEW!**


	27. Reliance

**_Guest_: I'm so glad you like Shima-kun. Now that you mention it, he _is_ a little like Kyo. Coincidental, I assure you, though I do love him too. ;] The long-awaited trip is finally here! Enjoy.**

**_Mikki18_: Hmm... well, you'll have to wait a little longer for romance, per se. But there are some moments coming up. Hopefully, they're not too out of the blue for the gang?**

**_bbst_: Well, that depends on your definition of "good guy." But I'm glad you love those two too. **

**_Angel of Randomosity_: Actually, that's a pretty good comparison. He is kind of evil, but not in a _evil _evil sort of way.**

**_Guest2_: In that case, I will trade you a chapter for a review. ;]**

**Thank you guys for reviewing! And thank you to the readers who are still putting up with me...**

_**. . .**_

"_**People say, 'I'm going to sleep now,' as if it were nothing. But it's really a bizarre activity. 'For the next several hours, while the sun is gone, I'm going to become unconscious, temporarily losing command over everything I know and understand. When the sun returns, I will resume my life.'**_

_**If you didn't know what sleep was, and you had only seen it in a science fiction movie, you would think it was weird and tell all your friends about the movie you'd seen.**_

_**They had these people, you know? And they would walk around all day and be OK? And then, once a day, usually after dark, they would lie down on these special platforms and become unconscious. They would stop functioning almost completely, except deep in their minds they would have adventures and experiences that were completely impossible in real life. As they lay there, completely vulnerable to their enemies, their only movements were to occasionally shift from one position to another; or, if one of the 'mind adventures' got too real, they would sit up and scream and be glad they weren't unconscious anymore. Then they would drink a lot of coffee.'" ― George Carlin**_

_**. . .**_

Training was a nightmare. I passed most of the following night in misery, trying not to toss and turn as I collapsed on my mattress, exhausted. I didn't use the pad much, but it was times like these, when I was sore and aching, that I really appreciated having a soft place to lay down. I just hoped most of these lumps and pains would be gone before I had to spend the whole night tomorrow on an uncomfortable patch of ground. I knew from experience that when you camped, somehow there was never a single place you could position yourself where you _wouldn't_ have a root in your back.

Fortunately for me and my assorted aches and bruises, Koenma gave us the whole night off to prepare for the next day's trip. Apparently, he wanted us to be fully rested and in tip-top condition - - according to Botan.

I rubbed my cheekbone lightly as I sat on the porch and watched the sun rise. The skin was swollen and tender under my fingertips from a particularly nasty collision with a pair of knuckles that I could've sworn were made of steel beneath that deceiving flesh-like coating. I couldn't decide just from probing the bruise whether it was in its blue or purple stages currently.

Botan was the first to arrive, by five whole minutes, and she plopped a small backpack at my feet. "Here," she said.

"What's this?" I asked curiously.

"Just some necessities," the bluenette replied.

"Like what?" my eyes scrutinized the bag as I attempted to use my nonexistent powers of x-ray vision.

"Oh, you know, meal bars, matches, biodegradable toilet paper, a first aid kit. Just a little something Reikai has pre-prepared for cases like this. Usually, I carry it around, but since I won't be going this time..." she shrugged.

Wow. I totally hadn't even thought about any of that stuff. Obviously, I wasn't the camping type.

I grimaced at the idea of carrying a heavy backpack after I had purposefully ditched my own bag, but I supposed since the others were sure to have more stuff of their own - - they _did_ need to sleep, after all - - it made sense. Testing its weight, I was pleasantly surprised. It wasn't particularly light, but it would be tolerable.

Yusuke and Kuwabara appeared over the top of the flight of stairs - - bickering about something, naturally - - followed closely by Hiei and Kurama - - who were not bickering about something, also naturally. Botan arranged for a portal.

They drew near and I became aware that Yusuke was staring annoyingly at my face. Yeesh. It was just a bruise. You'd think he'd never seen one before, but that would definitely be a lie.

"What _is_ it, Yusuke?" I snapped, though I knew full well what he was looking at.

After a moment, he finally answered dumbly, "Your face..." eyes still glued to my painfully swelling cheekbone.

Smiling brightly, I replied: "I know. It's lovely, isn't it?" My voice dripped with sarcasm as I stalked off into the portal.

.

.

.

It was a lush forest, dense with trees, thick with hiding places. My eyes darted anxiously from shrub to shrub as various crackling noises surrounded us in the undergrowth. I had never realized how threatening a forest could sound, all on its own.

We ran together as a close group, not allowing ourselves to be separated. This meant that Hiei had to slow himself down considerably - - and would be very obviously irritated for as long as he had to do so - - and Kurama and Yusuke held back on their pace as well. They didn't seem to mind as much as the fire apparition; this sprint we were keeping up was probably more like a pleasant jog to them, and they could no doubt maintain it comfortably all day.

I was relieved to find that I could at least keep up with Kuwabara, whom they would've had to wait for anyway. While it may turn out that I had no particular part on this mission, at the very least I didn't want to slow them down.

We continued on this way until the sun grew high in the sky. It got hot and I began to be uncomfortably warm under my fleece-lined jacket, but didn't want to ask them to stop so I could remove it.

Thankfully, it wasn't much longer until our members in front came to a halt. Quickly, I slid my arms out of the jacket sleeves and shoved it into the top of the bag.

"Hey, what've you got in there?" Yusuke asked, bending over, "Is it edible?"

Of course he would want to know that. "It's the bag Botan usually carries," I said by way of explanation.

The detective gave me a blank look: "She usually brings along a bag?"

"Of course, Urameshi. Where'd you think she got all the food and bandages and stuff from?" Kuwabara replied for me.

Yusuke grumbled something unintelligible.

"By the way, why are we stopped?" I asked curiously, looking around. The redhead had wandered a little ways away from the rest of us.

I took in my surroundings, suddenly noting that we had broken free of the dense tangle of trees, and were standing on a grassy nook on the edge of a cliff - - no, ravine. It continued on the other side of a great, rushing river that split the land in two; on the far side, trees rose up in another curtain of green.

Kurama was currently bending down in front of an old, wooden structure made of huge beams that spanned the width of the canyon. I noticed something coming off both ends of what I supposed was some sort of bridge, disappearing into the forest on either side. Sunlight glinted off metal. Train tracks?

That was odd. I hadn't heard any trains and we'd been here a few hours already.

"Kurama is examining the bridge to see if it's stable. Apparently, it's not meant for human use," Hiei replied.

"A railroad bridge..." I mumbled to myself.

Oh no. Don't tell me...

"We're going to have to cross it, aren't we?" I asked flatly. No one answered.

Kurama came back. "It appears to be sound enough," he declared, and we edged toward the structure.

Enough? What was that supposed to mean, "enough." It looked terribly unstable to me. Probably, it was a long-abandoned line.

"Why do we have to cross here?" I questioned, peering over the edge at the sheer drop below; but as the words left my mouth, the answer popped into my head, "Oh. You think it will lead to whatever central complex is out here... Which will lead to the disturbance." I sighed. He was probably right, too. Damn.

"It's the fastest way to cross this river, besides," the redhead told me.

His words were sensible... but that river looked so strong, like if you fell into it, it would sweep you away forever. And the drop was so far... not to mention the bridge was ancient, the tracks rusted through in places.

I gulped. I had never liked heights and my more recent experiences had only worsened my feeling of apprehension.

"Ladies first!" Yusuke declared, snickering, thinking I wouldn't go through with it.

Okay. It's just a set of rickety train tracks over a dangerously fast river. Great. What could possibly go wrong?

I shifted the bag on my back, took a steadying breath, and stepped out onto the thick wooden beam, feigning confidence as best I could.

Very slowly, I started edging across.

Actually, this wasn't so bad. I trained my eyes on the far cliff, where the bridge ended, and quickened my pace a little. The beam was thick enough that I didn't fear walking on it, and I could keep my balance alright if I just walked in a straight line toward the end.

"You wanna speed it up a bit? I'm getting grey hairs back here," Yusuke complained from over my shoulder.

I didn't turn to look at him, for fear I'd lose my precarious balance as I continued to place one foot in front of the other in a normal walking pace.

"Who was the one that said ladies first?" I spared some of my attention for a retort, "You're in the back now, so you'll just have to deal with it."

Nevertheless, I did try to speed up a little, to a shuffling jog. Then a hesitant run. Finally a near-sprint. Maybe it was just best to get this over with as quickly as possible? We were about three quarters of the way across the long bridge anyway.

That was when my foot struck a bent iron spike, sticking up dangerously out of the wood. I tripped, arms flailing like a windmill, falling, clutching the underside of what I now noticed were termite-damaged beams before I could plummet to my death in the roaring waters far below.

My fingers dug into the wood as hard as they could, and my legs wrapped around the beam, heart pounding with a deafening noise in my ears that even drowned out the sound of the rushing river. I pressed myself against the bottom of the wood, looking up with a grimace.

My teammates peered down at me, varying expressions decorating their faces. "Don't mind me," I tried to assure them, laughing nervously, though it was a little breathless, "You guys go on ahead. I'll be right behind you... crawling." I muttered the last part to myself. I would feel a whole lot safer if they weren't behind me the whole way, pushing.

Yusuke looked down, saw that I didn't look to be in imminent danger as long as I maintained my death grip on the beam, and kept going. As did Kuwabara. As did Hiei. As did Kurama. All of them marching right over me.

But no sooner had he passed than the redhead stopped and turned around. Gracefully bending toward me - - _he_ had no fear of falling - - he offered me a hand.

I shook my head adamantly, "Nuh-uh. There's _no way_ I'm letting go."

He stared down at me with unreadable green eyes. I squeezed my own shut, hoping he would just go away. My face pressed against the rough wood.

"Trust me..." he said, in what sounded like it might be some sort of plea. My eyes snapped open.

As I hung there, looking up in surprise, I realized that there was a seed of fear that had remained buried deep in a dark recess of my heart all this time. Since our initial misunderstanding where he had almost tried to take my life, I had maintained what I felt to be a healthy aversion to the smooth-talking redhead.

But now, looking up into patient eyes, I realized what a silly thing that was for me to hold onto. We may not get along so well, but... we were still teammates.

He wouldn't let go.

I finished studying his emerald eyes and nodded slowly, tentatively releasing one arm's hold on the beam to grip his forearm. His fingers curled around my own wrist securely. Funny, he looked so delicate, but I noticed now that his hands were stronger than I would have expected. While the rest of him had a nearly-feminine appearance, they could never be taken for anything other than a man's hands, with their muscles and their veins... they were nice hands.

In silent agreement, I released my hold on the railroad beam as he swung me up to stand once more on the top. For a second, he steadied me, but I quickly found my footing, and he dropped my arm, stepping away.

"Thanks," I muttered, suddenly and inexplicably feeling somewhat embarrassed. Why had I even noticed his hands? Now I just felt awkward for ever having thought about something ridiculous like that in the first place. I told myself firmly that it was just for reassurance that the pretty boy would have the strength to pull me up.

Our normal dynamic returned as he stated, "We can't have you dropping the bag," by way of explanation for his timely rescue. I couldn't tell if he was teasing.

Turning away from the enigmatic man, I gritted my teeth together and cautiously walked forward, minding my footing this time. After a moment, realization dawned that Kurama had chosen to walk behind so he could spot me in case I toppled over again. I wasn't sure whether I should feel grateful or insulted.

"_Finally_. Took you long enough," Yusuke complained once we finally reached the end.

"Shut it, Urameshi," I grumped, borrowing Kuwabara's apt line.

"This way," Kurama waved us forward, and we ran on a blessedly flat surface beside the train track, following it wherever it may lead.

.

.

.

"Ladies first!" Yusuke's taunt caused her back to stiffen. The girl rose to the challenge and stepped out onto the bridge.

She shouldn't worry so much about the safety of the wooden support beams; I had examined the bridge myself, after all. It was secure.

The girl started edging across, walking, jogging in response to another of Yusuke's jabs, then running, tripping, flailing, falling, and finally clutching underside of termite damaged beams as she hung below us.

"Don't mind me," she said shakily, "You guys go on ahead. I'll be right behind you... crawling." The girl averted her gaze. She tried to appear confident, but I could hear her heart pounding clearly in her chest from my position at the back of the line.

The others crossed over, careful not to step on her shins or fingers. I followed them.

The sound of her pounding heart, fluttering like a bird's, made my feet stop of their own accord.

I really shouldn't just leave her there. The girl was still so young and inexperienced, after all. And she had just proven to be clumsy enough that there was still a chance something could go wrong in trying to get herself back up onto the tracks on her own.

With an inward sigh, I turned, confident in my own balance. I would not fall so easily.

I bent down and extended a hand for the girl. I knew she didn't care for me - - the feeling was mutual - - but we couldn't lose a teammate so early in the mission. Especially when we hadn't even encountered any resistance yet.

She tossed her bright purple locks: "Nuh-uh. There's _no way_ I'm letting go." Her eyes closed resolutely.

Was she really afraid of falling... or was she still afraid of me? I hadn't fully realized before that she continued to harbor some of those feelings within her. True, I still blamed her for much of what had happened - - namely, destroying my chance at a normal human life - - but I wouldn't harm the girl.

"Trust me," I tried to assuage her fears with words meant to soothe.

Her eyes shot open to find mine. For some reason, her look was one of shock. However, as she hung there, staring up, her heart beat slowly calmed. She searched my eyes - - I could only assume for some indication of deceit.

I waited patiently. It wouldn't do to scare her away now.

Finally, she nodded and slowly reached up an arm to mine. My fingers wrapped securely around her slender wrist, ensuring that my hold on her wouldn't slip. I had a feeling that if such a thing were to happen, this woman would never trust me again.

She let go and I swung her up in front of me onto the beam. The girl wobbled for a moment, and I stretched out my other hand to steady her.

As soon as she looked like she had regained her balance, I let my hands drop, and stepped back.

"Thanks," she mumbled, looking away.

For some reason, her heart had sped up again. It was probably nervousness - - though whether it was due to myself or swinging over the canyon below, I couldn't tell. A small frown came to my face. Did the woman really fear me? Didn't she realize yet that I wouldn't cause her any deliberate harm? A slight feeling of irritation gnawed away at my insides.

"We can't have you dropping the bag," the casual words were out of my mouth before I could stop them. Stupid, really. I was supposed to be impressing upon her my benevolent intentions.

She frowned slightly, looking up at me. The girl then resumed her usual gruff manner; turning carefully on the beam, she began walking forward. I followed her, keeping a wary eye on her form, but she didn't falter again.

.

.

.

Because I ran in the back, it was a little while before I noticed that the reason the ground here was so clear was not, in fact, because of the train track that was placed beside it, but because of Kurama. He led the way, and the plants parted effortlessly for him. Suddenly, I was glad we had him along so we didn't have to go hacking through the jungle with our machetes.

Glancing behind as a thought struck me, I noticed the plants closing behind us, confirming my suspicions. The redhead was covering our tracks. Why did he have to be so damn smart? It made it hard to find much about him to criticize. Not to mention his earlier, baffling stunt...

I would have sighed, but I needed as much oxygen in my lungs as I could get.

My legs were perfectly up to the job of sprinting over rough terrain all day, but the rest of my body didn't seem to get the memo.

It wasn't much longer until my lungs began to burn and a cramp developed in my side. My back muscles spasmed, protesting the weight of the backpack.

I noticed a bit jealously that Kuwabara was still keeping up his pace from earlier. He wasn't as fast as the others, but it seemed he, at least, had their stamina. I didn't have either.

So we progressively got further apart.

Finally, they had to halt our run.

"Hey... you okay, Friday?" Yusuke asked awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck, "Sorry, we're so fast, we don't even really notice when the pace is rough."

"That's okay..." I mumbled back, just as awkwardly, trying not to pant too hard as I tried to discretely catch my breath.

"You guys have gotta cut us normal humans some slack," Kuwabara moaned, and I realized that he was getting tired too, though his pace hadn't shown it.

"Kuwabara... no one here is a normal human," Yusuke retorted with a flat look.

The carrot top was too busy gasping for breath to reply.

Yusuke sighed, slipping his bag off his back: "I guess it can't be helped." He faced away and bent over slightly, motioning behind his back with his hands.

"I'd love a lift, actually," Kuwabara said. Was he serious? I didn't really have any blood left in my brain to be able to tell.

"Not _you_, Kuwabara! Friday..." he turned his head to look at me.

I shifted my weight from foot to foot, hesitating. It was embarrassing. I definitely didn't want to be carried while the rest of them ran, but I couldn't keep slowing them down either. So I gave in, swallowed my pride - - and the dry lump in my throat - - and climbed on. He held up my legs as I wrapped my arms around his neck tentatively, making sure he could still breathe.

Yusuke picked up his bag and gave it to me to carry. The guys started to move again, and I ducked my head to hide a flush of embarrassment. This sucked. But my feet would probably be thanking Yusuke later.

At least it was Yusuke who had volunteered. Teammate or no, I didn't think I could take it if Kurama had performed more than one unusually helpful act toward me in one day. I probably wouldn't know how to think about him anymore, and then my comfortably gruff attitude toward the unforgivably handsome redhead would be ruined... which was unacceptable.

So I just closed my eyes and went along for the ride.

.

.

.

After a while, the sun began to set and the boys decided it was time to look for a place to make camp. They slowed their pace.

Yusuke set me down, figuring rightly that I could at least walk on my own.

Which I did, for a while. But even though I could see just fine in the darkness, I still managed to trip over a tree root, getting a mouthful of dirt. I really needed to stop exclaiming as I fell.

Not having a good excuse for my unusual klutziness on this mission, I chose not to enlighten the boys about my perfectly capable eyesight.

Sitting up, I spat the grainy soil out. "Hey! This dirt tastes different," I exclaimed sarcastically.

"You would be the expert on that, wouldn't you?" Hiei commented flatly.

I played along: "It's not so bad: going interesting places... eating interesting dirt..." I shrugged indifferently.

Yusuke hauled me to my feet, though I was perfectly capable of standing by myself.

"Let's keep moving," Kurama said.

True night fell swiftly. The darkness was even darker here, under the canopy of tall trees that surrounded us. So far, we hadn't seen a single clearing that would be big enough to accommodate us all.

Crack! _Rustle_. Crunch.

The noises that surrounded us in the woods made me jumpy. My eyes shifted around, nervously, trying to see 360 degrees at once. I suddenly wished I had as many eyes as Hiei; that way I could see out in all directions at the same time. I would never have to be caught off guard again.

"There, uh, seem to be a lot of, um, _things_ crunching around in the woods tonight," I said quietly into the silence.

"What, are you _scared_?" Yusuke teased, as one side of his mouth hooked up in a grin.

I just gave him a disgruntled look, choosing not to answer.

Fortunately, I was spared the uncomfortable moment when Kuwabara shouted out: "There's one!" He pointed to a clearing, lit appealingly by stray beams of moonlight from above. My tense muscles relaxed in relief.

.

.

.

Kuwabara and Yusuke dumped the firewood at my feet. I sat cross-legged on the ground and arranged it into a pyre formation as the others paced around setting things up for their rest.

Digging around in the bag, I found the box of matches. It took me a few tries to light one, but finally a flame sparked to life at the tip. I held it close to the wood; it promptly went out.

I groaned, disbelieving, as I held the smoking tip up to my face and looked accusingly at it. Shaking another match out of the box, I poised to light it.

"Hn," a grunt made me pause to look up. Hiei stood by the campfire; he held out a hand and instantly flames roared to life, beginning to lick away at the wood.

I looked at him enviously, "Right... fire apparition," I muttered.

He didn't answer, just disappeared up into a nearby tree.

"I'm starving!" Yusuke's grumble prompted me to bring out the meal bars from the bottom of the bag.

I tossed one to each of the boys who were standing around, then peered up into the darkness where I supposed Hiei was. There was something white up above one of the branches: his bandana? Hoping for the best, I threw him a bar too. I assumed he caught it, since it didn't come back down through the tree.

The meal bars actually weren't as bad as I'd worried they'd be. And they were filling, which was a good thing.

I crumpled the empty wrapper up and sighed. "You guys go ahead and get some sleep. I'll keep watch," I volunteered, "It's one thing I'm good for, after all." A wry smile crept onto my lips. So far, this trip had been one embarrassment after another. I had hoped I could at least be of more use, but I really did seem to be holding them back, after all, if only in small ways.

I supposed I should be glad my presence could at least provide comic relief, I thought to myself sarcastically.

"We can't do that," Kuwabara protested, reasoning, "You're a girl. Girls need their beauty sleep." I looked at him pointedly.

"Uh, Kuwabara..." Yusuke cut in, "Have you forgotten one tiny detail...?"

Kuwabara gaped, mouth popping open with a small whooshing noise: "You mean you really never sleep now... _At all?"_ the carrot top's incredulous words met my ears harshly.

"Yeah, that's about right," I poked the fire with a stick, trying to appear casual. The charred wood collapsed down in a slowly smoldering pile as the flames began to burn out.

"But we saw you sleeping that one time..." Kuwabara tried to defend his position.

"Unconscious is more like it," I muttered a bit gruffly, tossing the stick on top of the dying embers. I was never comfortable when I thought about how my life had changed for the stranger.

"Do you miss it... sleeping?" Yusuke asked curiously, oblivious to my pent-up frustration.

I stood and moved away from the low light of the campfire, "Well, it's not really the sleeping that I miss so much."

Kuwabara began to speak: "Oh. You mean you miss your - - "

_Family._

"Will you all just go to sleep already?" I snapped savagely, interrupting the nosy pair. Averting my gaze, I plopped down in the dirt, settling against a nearby tree as I crossed my arms defensively over my chest.

It was silent. My gaze flickered up to their startled ones. "Gomen..." I muttered, looking away, as I realized that I had overreacted. It wasn't their fault really; they didn't know they were rubbing salt in the wound.

I closed my eyes and ignored them. Eventually, the sounds of their settling down for the night quieted, and my lids flicked open. I gazed into the darkness that surrounded me.

An owl hooted nearby. The noises of the forest resumed, as whatever was out there forgot about the presence of the five beings that shared their clearing.

Crack! _Rustle_. Crunch.

I still wasn't used to the unidentified sounds, but after a while my nerves quieted. I kept a wary eye on my surroundings nonetheless, my back pressed firmly and comfortingly against the rough bark of the trunk.

A small brook babbled just beyond the copse of trees, and I listened to its solitary monologue as the hours ticked slowly by.

.

**AN: Sorry if I made you guys wait! Following my earlier statement that the only reason I even knew yakuza existed originally was from Gokusen (J-Drama), I decided to go back and watch it again. And I watched the anime for the first time. In other news, I've developed my first actor crush (dead ones don't count, do they?), and it only took me approximately two decades! (Watch out world) Jun Matsumoto is an excellent Sawada Shin. (Though I have made a promise with myself not to stalk him on facebook or wherever, I did watch Hana Yori Dango just because he's in it).**

**Also, when I was watching Gokusen (anime) into the wee hours of the morning, the thought struck me that short-haired Kurama would look a great deal like Sawada Shin (anime) ... hmm... Just a thought. Also, if you enjoy this story, I really think you guys would like the main character of Gokusen (Watch the J-Drama! It's the best! Even if you're like me and avoid TV shows with real people, please give it a chance. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.)**

I still have a deviantart account where I will be posting some pictures of characters, etc... to go with this story. Check it out if you want. I'm theanonymouspen . deviantart . com (no spaces)

Thank you for reading :)

**More exciting mission scenes coming soon...**

**Please REVIEW!**


	28. Spark

**Before anyone flips out, I'd just like to say that there are no vampires in this story. Certainly, Friday isn't going to turn into a vampire, so don't hold your breath... or run away screaming.**

**Also, there were a lot of people who apparently didn't realize Friday doesn't sleep since she came there permanently. My bad. I guess it was so clear in my head that I didn't really think to do more than allude to it. Sorry, guys. Now you know.**

**_Guest1:_ Well, we all know Kurama isn't really mean-spirited, but he is being fairly cold and distant to her. It's not Friday's fault, but let's face it, her existence is what got him involved in the mission in the first place and ruined whatever hard work he went to to disappear and live a normal life. In other words, please be patient with him! He's changing. **

**_Angel of Randomosity:_ It's true. At times, Kuwabara can be a bit of a bumbling idiot, but we love him anyway. He really does have good intentions. Remember, he was one of the first to reach out to Friday, even if it was just sending her food he thought she would like when she got stuck over there. **

**_Guest2:_ Thanks :] I really liked that quote too. And yes it would make me very happy if you did check out that J-Drama, Gokusen. And here's your chapter. You're welcome.**

**_bbst:_ No problem. I'm glad the character interactions work well. It's definitely fun to write. **

**_Ninjawolf1313_: Wow! I'm really amazed at your reviewing dedication. You didn't have to review so many chapters, but I'm glad you did. Each comment made me smile :] Welcome to the story! I'm sorry I broke your heart, but I promise he's still really handsome even with short hair. (I liked his long hair too). I'm really flattered that you find the story original. And the story isn't _about_ Hiei, but he plays a large role, so don't feel bad for enjoying him :] (Hint, the sequel will be more about him, so keep reading! Your patience will be rewarded.) And Friday will be teamed up with Kurama soon (maybe the next chapter?) Keep being awesome and reviewing to find out!**

**_Bananamush:_ I hope you enjoyed your trip! My story is happy that you're back :] It really appreciates your feedback. I love sleeping too, so I feel your (and Friday's) pain. And it makes me happy that you enjoy the Kurama/Friday moments.**

**Thank you to all my lovely readers and reviewers. And without further ado... the mission continues on! **

_**. . .**_

"_**I**'ve always envied people who sleep easily. Their brains must be cleaner, the floorboards of the skull well swept, all the little monsters closed up in a steamer trunk at the foot of the bed**." ― David Benioff**_

_**. . .**_

There was a muffled crashing sound as someone stumbled about in the dark.

I opened my green eyes quickly as I awoke, watching from my bedroll on the ground.

The girl thumped silently about, shaking her head violently as her purple hair thrashed this way and that. She yelped quietly as she stubbed a toe, hopping on one foot until she fell to her knees in the dirt, not two paces from me. I remained silent, noticing that she couldn't see me.

Still so lively, even at this hour...

Her hands went to the vivid locks that were pulled into a curtain over her face, fiddling with them as she muttered quietly to herself. Something moved in her hair. Fingers working diligently, she finally freed it.

The girl looked at the furry thing she held cupped in her hands. "Ah! ... Kawaii," she exclaimed in a muted tone, conscious of the sleeping others.

Suddenly, she jolted slightly, releasing the thing with a soft cry. The creature - - now I could see it was a bat - - unfurled its wings and pumped them, gaining altitude. The sharp smell of blood met my nose. She squeezed a finger, and a crimson bead welled at its tip.

"Ouch," she muttered, looking at the droplet.

So, it had bitten her. Odd, it was just a fruit bat - - there were only three species of so-called vampire bats, after all - - but it must have been confused by all her crashing about and so felt threatened when she touched it.

There seemed to be some strange quality about the girl that made even normally docile animals react in unexpected ways, I pondered with a small frown.

"Oh no!" she yelped, barely remembering to keep her voice down as she leapt up. The girl continued mumbling to herself in an low drone as she rushed frantically about. I picked the word "rabies" out of the jumble. She grabbed hold of her bag and rummaged through it, looking for something antibacterial, no doubt.

I sighed quietly as I stood, walking over to her.

"Come here," I said, and she whipped around, gasping. I frowned slightly, remembering that I naturally moved too silently for her human ears to hear.

In the middle of her startled movement, she tripped over her own shoes and lost her balance. For some incomprehensible reason, today it seemed the girl was all grace and left feet.

.

.

.

What was wrong with me!? Why did it seem like I got worse at this with each passing day? I had started out capable enough. Now it seemed like I was toppling over at the slightest whim... tripping over my own stupid feet.

I was a dancer, for crying out loud! Dancers are supposed to be a heck of a lot more balanced than that.

His hand snapped out to wrap around my wrist, catching me before I could hit the ground. With a deft tug, he brought me back to my feet. He let go and wandered over to his bag, shuffling through its orderly contents.

I just stood there, blinking at the redhead. Where did he come from? How long had he been awake? What was he doing?

He returned in a brief moment, carrying a small tube in his hand.

"Here," he offered it to me where I stood, still frozen in place like a deer in the headlights.

"Huh?" I finally asked intelligently, blinking as I reached out and took it, examining the tube.

"Ointment. For the bite," he explained.

I blushed and began to stammer nervously, realizing that he'd seen the whole spectacle. Great. He must think I'm a huge idiot by now. Why did I have to keep embarrassing myself over and over again? Remind me never to go on another trip with the boys.

"Calm down," he said in a low voice, shoving his hands in his pockets, "The others are still sleeping."

"Oh... right," I muttered, pushing my forefingers together nervously.

Suddenly, he began walking away from me, out of the ring of the dim firelight. Had I revolted him that much with my extravagant display of klutziness?

"Hey!" I yelped, before remembering to whisper, "Where are you going?" The words came out more anxious than I would have liked.

"I'm going to the bathroom... if that's alright with you, watchdog?" he asked with composed humor, quirking an eyebrow quizzically.

"Oh," I muttered, too embarrassed to care about the teasing nickname, "Of course." A small blush crept over my face in the darkness. Now he would probably think I was nosy too... awesome.

I sighed and let my head tip back, resting my strained neck muscles. My eyes caught sight of a pair of what I knew to be crimson ones, watching me silently from a tree branch. I nearly groaned. Perfect.

Sure, Friday, go ahead and make a complete and utter fool of yourself in front of your two most judgmental teammates. The only thing I was fortunate in was that Hati wasn't here as well, because we all know he would've been the first to see it... and the first to point it out.

I looked up again, but the eyes were closed now. "Are you awake, Hiei?" I called softly up into the tree, though I was fairly certain of what I'd seen. He didn't answer, feigning sleep for the time being.

Grumbling, I stuffed the bag behind me to use as a cushion and settled back against the tree to wait for sunrise.

.

.

.

The others woke, and I excused myself as they dressed hurriedly. I washed my face in the cold water of the nearby stream, just on the other side of our curtain of greenery.

I quickly cleaned my teeth and ran my fingers through my hair, patting it down a bit. Voila. As ready as I'd ever be.

Turning, I returned to the clearing.

"Aaaauuughhh!" Kuwabara screamed, diving for a nearby bush lest I see his boxers.

"Don't look!" he shouted._ Too late_, I thought wryly.

"Why aren't you dressed yet, Kuwabara?" I demanded, putting my back to him, "I gave you five whole minutes of privacy."

"Well I - - ungh - - needed six, okay?" he replied, hitching up his pants from the sound of things.

"Has it been six minutes yet?" I asked testily, listening to the sound of a zipper.

"Uh... yeah, sure," he said, "You can look now."

"Thanks," I muttered, and went about my business: putting out the campfire and retrieving the breakfast bars. I didn't actually bother to look at the carrot top, regardless.

We finished cleaning up camp as we munched on the dry food. Settling the packs on our shoulders, we stood in a cluster, peering out at the vast forest surrounding us.

"So..." Yusuke ran a hand through now-floppy hair, "Which direction are we headed in, Kurama?"

"For now, let us continue to follow the train tracks," the redhead responded.

"Speaking of which," I interjected, "How are we supposed to find the train tracks?" We had wandered a distance away from them, after all.

"Last night, I left a trail of seeds that should lead us back to where we separated from the line," Kurama paused and closed his eyes. Had he really? I didn't even notice at the time.

In the forest before us, a shoot sprang up; it's flower opened, spreading petals that glowed faintly yellow. I gaped. It was beautiful.

"This way," Kurama said, walking quickly ahead. We followed his lead and the pace quickened. Before us, the fox's flowers bloomed to show the way.

.

.

.

The train tracks let out at a great, gravelly mountain. It blocked our view of a large industrial complex that pumped out smoke in huge, grey clouds that billowed overhead. The torrent of a strong river rushed somewhere nearby, assaulting our ears with its roar.

Gears ground, metal squeaked, mechanical joints pumped. The rusty machinery of the factory went round and round; an ancient behemoth well past its prime.

The mountain moved. I gasped, staring wide-eyed overhead as a massive arm separated from the side of the rocky mass and came crashing down, ripping a whole side off the metal building, exposing the factory's innards. The motion was accompanied by a slow groan; long and loud, it made the very earth beneath my feet tremble.

"What the - - ?" Kuwabara exclaimed, jumping in surprise.

"SPIRIT GUN!" Yusuke wasted no time in going on the offensive.

The blue beam shot out, grazing the creature's blocky shoulder before bouncing off at a skewed angle. The mountainous beast grunted, but didn't cease its demolishing of the metal structure.

"It's strong," Kurama observed in a tone tinged with disbelief.

"It can't be more than A class," Hiei replied skeptically. That _thing_ was a demon. No way... No one had ever told me they could be that _big_. Or that _ugly_.

"True, it is no match for you in speed," Kurama advised him, "But its blows are crippling and its hide... near-impenetrable. Don't underestimate it."

"Hn. I'm not the one who's allowed myself to go soft. I have no reason to fear this slow-minded creature," Hiei adjusted his grip on his katana, and disappeared.

He struck at the demon's lumpy knees - - each the size of a small mansion. The creature bellowed, but did not go down. A hand moved as if in slow motion to swat at the fire apparition like he was nothing more than a troublesome fly.

Hiei easily evaded, but the momentum of the demon's blow spun its whole large mass around.

On the creature's other shoulder was Rikyu. He sat, dangling his legs off the massive joint, hands propping him up from behind in a bored sort of slump.

Seeing our group, he perked up considerably. The dull, glazed look left his eyes and they sparkled with mischief all the way through their yellow depths.

He laughed, a fleeting sound, and hovered up to hang in the sky beside the demon's overlarge head.

"Congratulations," the fire apparition addressed me sardonically, and I jumped, not noticing he had come to stand by my side, "It would seem you are needed, after all."

"Hey, don't get snippy with me just because your sword isn't working," I retorted.

He frowned, a crimson eye sliding over to look at me before whisking away with a small, annoyed sound.

"Well, then. We'll leave him to you," Kurama stated briefly, following his comrades into battle, rose whip bursting violently into existence as he went.

"Gee, thanks," I muttered, looking up to the giant's shoulder, where Rikyu had been. He wasn't there.

"Looking for me?" a low voice said, lips barely brushing my ear, "How touching."

I yelped, and spun around, heart jumping through the roof of my mouth. My wide brown eyes made contact with his own.

My teeth ground together and I fixed a glare on him. "Why such a scary look?" he pouted, "I even dressed up especially for you."

Rikyu held his arms out to let me get a good look at his new ensemble. Where before he had gone about shirtless, he was now clothed neck to ankle. White gloves even covered his hands.

"See? Isn't this much better?" he asked, grabbing my chin with a protected hand. Rikyu smiled as he remained in his default form of exquisite beauty. He was right; it was better. But he was still Rikyu, and Rikyu was an enemy. He worked for Tsuki-Yomi - - my predestined nemesis - - for crying out loud.

"What the heck do you even like about me?" I questioned roughly, slapping his hand away, "I'm about as friendly as a cactus, so get the hell away from me!"

He tisked lightly, a small smile remained stretched across his lips.

"No need to be that way, Kawaisa. I'm not looking for a fight today... I'm just here to enjoy the show," he told me and winked.

With that parting thought, he shot up into the air, disappearing high overhead where I couldn't reach him. I glared at the speck that was Rikyu and paced, clenching my hands into fists by my side, muttering gruffly.

My eyes flicked over to the mountain of a beast, and I considered using it as leverage to propel myself to Rikyu. A moment later, I decided against it. If Rikyu wasn't starting a fight, well... the better for me, I guess.

The boys were too busy to save me if my klutzy streak still hadn't passed by now... which would be just my luck. Speaking of the boys...

The demon knocked Yusuke back, and his arm ripped open on a sharp piece of broken metal as he fell. The wound dripped blood down his arm. Time to get the first aid kit. I could do that, if I couldn't do much else to help the situation.

I returned, standing at the edge of the industrial clearing with the white box in my grip and waited for the boys to finish up.

Something was off. The machinery was running... but where were the people who operated it? Looking around, I discovered more piles of rubble behind the half-destroyed building that the boys were currently fighting around.

It looked like the beast had demolished those factories too. How strange. The people must have fled once they saw it coming. According to Koenma's energy readings, it had been here for at least a couple days now, so I guess that gave them plenty of time to evacuate before we arrived.

I wondered how many minds Spirit World would have to wipe...

Loud noises cut off my musings.

"Stupid thing! Why won't you just die already!" Kuwabara bellowed, trying to shorten the demon from the bottom up as he hacked in wide arcs with his orange spirit sword.

I sighed, and watched the chaos that unfolded in front of me.

Finally, Hiei brought the giant down with a technique he called "Dragon of the Darkness Flame." I didn't know if it was a real dragon, but it certainly was impressive... and terrifying. It was nothing like watching it on Genkai's small television, at any rate.

The boys sure got out of the fire apparition's way in a hurry as he shot through the air, wrapped up in the energy of the dragon's head.

The demon fell to the ground and laid still; it didn't move again.

"Hiei..." Kurama said in a worn sort of way, "You've destroyed a lot of the surrounding forest." I looked around at the great swaths of land that had been carved up by the "dragon." My eyes bugged out of my head.

Hiei retorted cooly, "It will grow back, Kurama." The fire apparition surveyed the massive amounts of destruction around him, "... In time," he conceded, recognizing just how deep the damage went.

The sad remains of the metal factory clunked and ground to a halt as Kurama induced tendrils from the forest to clog the now-pointless gears.

Remembering something, I looked overhead, scanning the blue sky for any sign of Rikyu. But the immortal was long gone.

"Ouch," Yusuke mumbled, poking at his wound, drawing my attention.

"Come here, Yusuke," I told the battered boy.

"I don't need something like that," he protested, spotting the first aid kit.

"Now, now, Yusuke Urameshi. What would Keiko say if I let you go home like that?" I questioned firmly, hands on hips.

He grumbled, but complied.

"It looks like you will need stitches, Yusuke," Kurama said, peering over at the wound.

"Oh! I can do that!" I supplied gleefully.

Seeing their flat looks, I cleared my throat, doing my best to tone-down my expression, "I mean, I know how to stitch someone up." I shrugged. It was a more-recent skill I had acquired.

Yusuke held out his arm silently, and waited with minimal grumbling while I cleaned the wound and dug out the special curved needle and thread for just such an occasion.

Making small, even loops with the thread, I pulled the skin together just until the edges met, smoothing them down. I tied it off.

It was a long gash, and required quite a few stitches. Honestly, I was proud of the boy's patience.

"There you go, Yusuke," I declared, proud of my handiwork. To tell the truth, I'd only ever tried that on pig's feet in lab... but I wouldn't be telling them that.

"You should put some ointment on that," Kurama suggested.

"Right. Of course..." I dug around in the box, "Umm... which one do I use?" I was sure the creams all said strange, supernatural things, and they were in Japanese besides... in short, it was hopeless to try and figure out on my own.

Kurama tapped a blue tube with a finger. I applied the oddly fluorescent cream to the spirit detectives ripped skin.

"Hey. That tingles," Yusuke muttered.

"It could do worse," I said and shrugged.

I noticed Kurama had moved away by then to induce plants to cover the mountainous body. Despite his efforts to hide it, I still hoped Reikai would send someone to deal with it properly before the ordinary humans got back... it would be a sick shock, to say the least.

Mind elsewhere, I wound the bandages round and round Yusuke's arm. Finally covering the wound, I snipped the end of the fabric and tied it off.

"There," I announced. The bandage slipped, sagging loosely off his arm.

"Um..." Yusuke muttered with a flat look.

"Ehehe," I gave an embarrassed laugh, untying the knot and tugging on the end good and hard before retying it.

"I believe you are cutting off the detective's circulation," Kurama murmured from beside me, bending forward with his hands on his knees to peer into Yusuke's pained face.

"Sorry!" I exclaimed, hurriedly fumbling to undo it.

Kurama took the bandage from my clumsy fingers and unwound it, rewrapping it correctly. My shoulders slumped, dejected. I couldn't even help clean the boys up after the fight I hadn't participated in, apparently. Was there anyone more useless to bring along on a mission? The redhead secured the fabric correctly.

"The bandaging had to be redone," Kurama commented, "But the stitches are fine to leave as they are." I blinked. So, he had approved of that part of my handiwork. That restored my mood a little; I had been rather proud of my stitches, after all.

"I will request that Koenma send a portal," the redhead said, standing and taking out his communicator, "Although it may be a while before he is able to sort out our location." His words of advice kept us from getting too anxious about hurrying back. Things would happen when they happened. Kurama separated himself from the group.

"Where's Kuwabara?" I asked Yusuke suddenly.

We looked around, finally spotting him sprawled out beside a large shrub, snoring.

"Sleeping on the job..." Yusuke grumbled, marching over to the carrot top. I followed.

He reached out to shake the boy awake. But for some reason, I suddenly found the thought of anyone being roused from a blissful slumber nearly intolerable. My hand shot out to close around his, restraining it.

"Let him sleep for now. The portal won't be here for a while anyway, right?" I reasoned with him.

Yusuke sighed: "Well, I guess he did take a pretty hard blow to the head earlier." He pulled away.

I crouched down in front of the sleeping boy as if he were one of the most fascinating things I'd ever encountered. "I wonder what he's dreaming about," I murmured, intrigued, gaze fixed on his peaceful features. I settled back on my haunches.

"Funny," I mused to myself in a small voice, "I can't even remember if I used to dream..." That train of thought caused my brow to furrow slightly; a decidedly unpleasant feeling settled in the pit of my stomach.

"C'mere, Eikichi," Kuwabara mumbled, turning over in his sleep, "Here, Eikichi..." The words were barely decipherable as he talked into the dirt.

"Who's Eikichi?" I questioned the spirit detective who was still hovering over his friend.

"His cat," Yusuke deadpanned.

"Eh?" I said, surprised. However, it soon turned to laughter, a genuine smile lighting my face.

"Oh, Kuwabara..." I chuckled, ruffling his hair, "All this and you still dream about a cat?"

I crouched like that for a moment, watching my teammate with an inexplainable feeling of tenderness. Poor Kuwabara; sleeping so soundly, he looked like this whole adventure had really tired him out.

"Can I wake him up now?" Yusuke asked.

I stared at the slumbering boy for a minute, deliberating before I answered.

"Koenma is sending a portal," Kurama called over to us.

"Yes, I suppose you can..." I slowly answered the detective, letting him do the honors. I wouldn't have anything to do with waking the sleeping boy.

.

.

.

"Good work," Koenma congratulated us from behind his tall desk, "That demon was stronger than I expected, but it seems you were able to handle it without too much difficulty."

I bowed to the inevitable and slumped deeper into the padded couch as we went through our reports of the mission.

"Friday?" Koenma finally asked, turning to me.

"Nothing to report," I said, mind rejoining the conversation at hand.

"But wasn't one of Tsuki-Yomi's commanders there?" Koenma questioned, the information having come up earlier.

I shrugged, "Yeah, he was."

"So why didn't you fight him?" Koenma demanded, slamming tiny hands down on his desk in an expression of frustration.

"Hey, not my fault. He wasn't really inclined to fight when I found him, and I can't exactly fly, you know?" I retorted.

"You should have fought him anyway!" Koenma replied testily.

"I told you, he wasn't going to fight!" I shouted back.

"Well, why wasn't he going to fight?" the toddler raised his own voice to match mine.

"I don't know!" I said loudly as Hati chose that moment to join us, "Why don't you ask Hati that question? He's known him for far longer, after all."

"Ask Hati what?" the wolf said with a puzzled look.

"What Rikyu is up to," I supplied.

"The commander didn't even fight Friday the last time he saw her," Koenma elaborated.

"He comes, he flirts, he leaves. Treating me this way just 'cause I'm a girl. It's annoying," I complained to the wolf.

"That doesn't sound like Rikyu..." the wolf mused, closing his eyes in thought.

"Huh?" I questioned, confused.

Slowly, as if dredging up long-forgotten memories from far distant times, the wolf spoke: "In all the decades I've encountered him, he's never once deferred to fight someone simply because of gender. And he isn't the type to stray from his master's orders to show preference to a mortal."

My mouth hung open, unhinged, as a terrifying realization stole over me: "Y-you've gotta be kidding me. You mean that - - that _creep_ actually..."

.

.

.

Her stunned words quickly turned to disbelieving shouts, "What does he even like about me? I'm not even that appealing! I - - I'm violent, just for starters."

Hati nodded in agreement.

"And - - and sarcastic!" she continued.

"Certainly," the wolf conceded.

"And _bad tempered!"_ the purple-haired girl declared with a sense of finality.

"That's a given," he replied.

"_Hey!_ Hati!" she retorted as realization set in.

"Well, at any rate," the wolf ignored the the girl's indignant protests, "It would seem your defensive mechanisms have failed to work in this case."

She pouted, crossing her arms in a huff.

Defensive mechanisms... Ah, yes. She had plenty of those. Well, I was sure she had her reasons. There are many people in the world that like to hide their true heart behind elaborate walls. I certainly wasn't one to judge.

"It's this darn face," she replied with biting sarcasm, "I'm just too dang pretty for my own good." And in that moment, it was clear that the woman didn't believe her own words.

"It's probably because you're so stubborn," Hati volunteered, "Without your determination, sure you have a pretty enough face..." he trailed off thoughtfully.

"Did you know? Every being has a spark within them, though only some have the ability to _see_," Hati's scarred eye glinted in the light, "But if the sparks inside others are like the stars that shine so far away, then the light inside of you burns as brightly as the sun."

The wolf cocked his head: "Sometimes, it's almost unbearable to look at, but nevertheless, it is beautiful. No doubt Rikyu is drawn to that spark."

She blinked slowly out at him from unreadable eyes, the wheels in her head visibly turning.

"My," the girl finally replied laughingly, "That's some compliment, coming from a wolf..."

Koenma sighed into the stretched silence that followed. "Well, if we're all done here, I have paperwork to do," he said pointedly, "You have a few hours until sunset. I will be expecting you to be well-rested by then and ready to locate more Nightmares."

"You're going to work us to death," the detective complained loudly. I silently agreed.

.

**AN: For those of you who were wondering, the rough equivalent of "Kawaisa" would be something like "cuteness" or "sweetness".**

**Also, some of you may have noticed that you can usually count on me to update on what I've come to affectionately think of as Friday Fridays. I usually update about twice a week, but the other day is random, so think of it as a surprise. Why am I telling you this? One, so you can look forward to a chapter on Friday Fridays. Two, to hopefully motivate myself to keep posting at the very least every Friday with school looming on the horizon. Feel free to bug me on Friday Fridays if I haven't posted. That way, maybe someday I'll actually finish the story. (I'm not really lazy, it's just soooooo looooong).**

I still have a deviantart account where I will be posting some pictures of characters, etc... to go with this story. Check it out if you want. I'm theanonymouspen . deviantart . com (no spaces)

Thank you for reading :)

**Preview: Friday gets teamed up with Kurama!? And an awesome character returns? To see the ensuing chaos...**

**Please REVIEW!**


	29. Partners

**Attention: There are a few Japanese words used here. Translations are at the end of the chapter.**

**_Guest:_ Rikyu will definitely be appearing a lot more, but you may have to wait a while. Sorry! And the more I've written, the more I've realized that Kuwabara is actually one of my favorite characters to write about. Even if I don't do it much. Strange, I know. Notice, in this fic he's actually become one of the most "powerful" of the group by some strange turn of fate.**

**_bbst:_ I love Batman! The theme _would_ make it better. Haha. And Friday x Rikyu? Hmm... well, I'll just leave that a mystery... for now.**

**_Ninjawolf1313:_ I'm glad you found the beginning amusing :] As usual, I tried. Heehee. **

**_A Fan:_ Your review gave me many warm, fuzzy feelings :3 Thanks for stopping by, reading, and reviewing. Please continue to do all three often ;] I'm struggling a bit with fluidity at the moment, but hopefully I can get back on track soon enough that I'll be able to keep up this updating pace :/ I'm also glad you like the fic despite the fact that Kurama is sometimes awol (sorry). Currently, we're in stage two of Kurama and Friday's interactions. Stage one was animosity. Stage two is them generally ignoring each other. The other stages are still under construction...**

**_Angel of Randomosity:_ Hati feels loved! (He thinks it's about time. Haha.) And your comment literally made me laugh so hard. I couldn't have said it any better myself. (Though I don't know if I'd say Kurama is lazy, per se. More like, he just wanted to have a normal life... maybe? I dunno. Ask him.)**

**Thank you lovely reviewers! :3 A chapter for you...**

_**. . .**_

"_**I**n China, we say: 'There are many dreams in a long night.' It has been a long night, but I don't know if I want to continue the dreams. It feels like I am walking on a little path, both sides are dark mountains and valleys. I am walking towards a little light in the distance. Walking, and walking, I am seeing that light diminishing**." ― Xiaolu Guo**_

_**. . .**_

I stared awkwardly across at my redheaded partner. I swore, sometimes I thought Hati was just plain evil... sticking me with this guy...

Well, at least I knew he wasn't actually thinking about killing me anymore. Subconsciously, I rubbed my arms, still experience the chilling sensation of thorns closing in around me.

See, those were the kinds of feelings I got around this guy... not those ridiculous notions about hands and other such crap. Frankly, I was relieved that the edginess hadn't faded; ironically, it made me a lot more comfortable. I was on firm ground there, so to speak.

He didn't look at me, just walked purposefully along beside me, hands in pockets. I didn't bother searching for the Nightmares with my spiritual awareness; he looked like he had a plan.

We wandered through a populated area, on our way to a destination the redhead didn't care to share. It was late, but the lights were lit and small stores lining the streets were still open. The sight was rather pleasant.

As we passed by a food mart, I stopped. A flash of red-orange hair had caught my eye, the shade looking very familiar.

"It couldn't be..." I muttered.

Kurama halted, already a few feet in front of me. He turned to look at me inquisitively.

The tan man at the register moved, and his face came into view. He tossed a few bills nonchalantly across the counter in exchange for the food and went to gather up his bags.

"Shimabukuro?" I asked no one in particular. The redhead remained silent.

Suddenly, I felt bad about what had passed between that boy and I, and how I had let him leave without apologizing for the various types of grief I had caused him. My feet carried me into the store, bell jingling as the door opened.

Cheerful, pleasant, friendly... I took a deep breath.

I fixed a large smile on my face. "Konbanwa!" I said, popping up from around the register, raising a hand in greeting.

For some reason, he looked surprised to see me.

"Uuaah!" the Okinawan boy exclaimed, dropping his freshly-bagged groceries.

"Y-you!" he pointed a wavering finger as his mouth gaped open in shock.

"Is that any way to greet someone who came to apologize?" I pouted, "Ah! Which reminds me... Sorry about the other day... and for not remembering you." I bowed deeply. Maybe the apology had come off a little more flippantly than I had intended, but I really was sincere. He'd see that, right?

"Go away!" he wailed. Apparently not. His hands clamped onto either side of his head as if he had a terrible headache all of a sudden.

Snap.

"Just accept my apology already, dammit!" I shouted, taking him by the collar and shaking vigorously as his head lolled back and forth.

"Okay! Okay! LET GO!" he yelled.

I obliged, stepping back and folding my hands behind me with a sheepish sort of smile.

"Here, let me help you with those," I offered, gathering up the spilled contents of the bag.

"Dozo," I passed them to him. He took the bags from me cautiously like he was afraid I'd bite.

He scratched his head and sighed, then began walking toward the door. I tagged along.

The door jingled as we headed out onto the street; I tugged my jacket closer to protect against the cold night air. The boy turned, starting to walk the direction opposite than the one Kurama and I had been going. I followed him anyway; Kurama gave me a look that asked wordlessly why I was going in the wrong direction.

I ignored him for now, pulling up alongside Shimabukuro.

"You should come over again sometime," I tried making an impulsive peace offering, "I promise it'll be more pleasant."

He spared me a flat look. "No," he said.

I pouted and continued, mumbling a bit, "Plus, you still have to fix that window. It wasn't mine, you know."

"I refuse," he threw the bags over a shoulder and faced straight ahead, shutting me out.

Speeding up, I placed myself directly in front of him, matching his pace as I walked backward. He had to look down at me now, even if the look he gave me wasn't entirely pleasant.

"If you don't come visit me... I'll just have to visit you," I delivered my pleasant threat, folding my hands behind my back as I awaited an answer.

A look of sheer terror spread across his face.

"No!" he half-yelped, "I - - uh - - I'll come visit you."

Hm... I wondered if he was worried I'd embarrass him in front of his yakuza buddies again. Pointless, really, I had never intentionally wiped the floor with the poor guy, and I wasn't planning on drinking anything the yakuza offered me again. Ever. In other words, he was safe.

But... I guess it had gotten him to accept my olive branch, so I wasn't going to enlighten him.

"Good," I said with a smile, tilting my head, "I'll be expecting you soon, Shimabu-kun."

He stopped in his tracks, a heavy blush creeping onto his cheeks. Haha. How cute! Not such a tough guy after all, are we? I cocked my head, examining the boy.

The blush turned into an angry one. I could almost see the steam coming out of his ears. His hand balled into a fist and a vein protruded from his forehead. Through clenched teeth, he growled out, "Shi-ma-bu-ku-ro."

"Hai, hai. Of course," I flipped a hand at him, "Shimabu-kun."

He exploded, swinging the bags of groceries wildly about as he gestured aggressively: "SHIMABUKURO. Ku-_ro_. Say it!"

"Shimabu... kun?" I feigned ignorance, putting a finger to my cheek in a confused sort of way.

"ShimabukuroShimabukuroShimab ukuRO!" he said in a rage.

I hid a small chuckle behind a hand.

"Well, later then..." I called out, jogging back to where Kurama was waiting, waving a cheerful goodbye, "... Shimabu-kun." I shot the last part over my shoulder at the fuming boy.

"It's Shimabukuro, dammit!" he waved a fist threateningly in the air, stomping a foot, "Shimabukuro-_sama!"_ Ha! As if I would ever address him as such.

"Ready?" I asked Kurama as I trotted up beside him.

"What were you doing to that unfortunate person?" he questioned me.

"Nothing much. I just don't like feeling that people are mad at me, so I had to set some things straight," I shrugged.

Kurama glanced over his shoulder at the boy, who was still smoldering with barely-suppressed rage. A small, disbelieving sound escaped his lips.

I ignored Kurama's raised eyebrow. "Did you see his face? He was so afraid I'd actually come for a visit," I laughed. It was so funny, the way that boy overreacted to every little thing.

"I'm not sure that's something to be so proud of..." Kurama muttered. But who needed his advice, anyway? I was having more fun than I'd had in... well, a while.

"Come along," I told the redhead, folding my hands behind my back as I walked. The effect was somewhat ruined when I had to stop at the intersection, realizing he was the one leading the way.

.

.

.

"What is this?" I questioned, looking down at the scattered feathers on the forest floor.

The air here was quiet. Never having entered one since my arrival in Japan, I had been a bit surprised when Kurama had first led us away from the concrete jungle and into a large city park. Did he always patrol places like this? I guess it would make sense. He was probably more comfortable being around lots of plants he could use as potential weapons.

Kurama didn't answer. I looked up and saw his mouth set in a grim line.

Cautiously, I walked forward, following the trail of feathers. He hovered a few steps behind.

The scattered plumage ended here. Seeing what lay beyond, I gasped, hands flying to my mouth to stifle the sound.

Gruesome.

I let my hands drop and swallowed to clear the dry feeling in my throat. It wouldn't do to appear weak and silly in front of him. But still, it was terrible...

Birds. A whole flock of them. They lay still on the ground, shedding feathers where they fell. Not a single one of them still had its head.

With wide, questioning eyes, I stared up at the redhead.

"I have seen such a thing before... with Hiei. There must be a Nightmare close by. Stay alert," he said quietly, face carefully emotionless, and padded forward without a sound.

My feet refused to move. I hadn't heard such things were happening. Just how much didn't I know? Maybe I should have been attending more of the meetings.

The violently artistic arrangement drew my eyes forcefully back to it.

And this... it was all so _wasteful_. They hadn't even caught the poor feathered beasts for nourishment. They were just... dead. For no reason whatsoever. Dead.

That's right, I reminded myself. My enemies weren't like the ones in children's tales. They weren't afraid to kill. Just because they hadn't succeeded with one of us yet was no reason to let my guard down.

And their goal... their goal was to take this entire world for themselves. To take it from the _humans._ Who knew how far they were willing to go to achieve that end.

Rikyu's smooth voice floated through my mind: _'And then there will be no more mortals...' _

A brief shudder went through me. I hoped that whatever help I could offer wouldn't come too late. But who was I, really, that it should fall to me to be humanity's last hope?

.

.

.

The girl was very silent behind me. The light crunching of her footsteps was missing and I turned, realizing she wasn't following.

"Is something the matter?" I stopped and watched her closely.

She hung her head, bangs blocking my view of her eyes. It was hard to tell what a person was thinking that way.

Her lips moved, voice carrying quietly through the thick forest to my sensitive ears, "I just want to go home... I... I hate this place!" A muted venom permeated her words.

Silence. How would one answer that? There was no good way...

She deflated suddenly, muscles loosening with an exhale: "No, that's not true." As she took back her harsh words, she turned to lean her head against one of the many tree trunks that surrounded us.

Still unable to see her full expression, I eyed the girl warily.

"Are you going to have a breakdown?" I asked slowly. Perhaps it wasn't the most sensitive of questions, but it was of crucial importance.

"Do we have time?" she asked, still facing away.

"No," I answered her truthfully, trying to keep my voice gentle despite the cold reason of the matter.

She sighed and raised her head, setting her eyes decidedly: "Very well. Let's get going."

.

.

.

"This way," he said, catching sight of something as we walked.

I continued casting my awareness out into my surroundings, as I'd been doing for a while now. The activity was rather draining.

He stepped into a clearing and looked down at another ring of feathers on the ground. I gritted my teeth together. No matter how many times I told myself not to think too hard about it, it was still unpleasant.

Dark lights sparked suddenly into existence all around us. The sensation sent a jolt through me. "Watch out!" I shouted to my redheaded partner, alarm coloring my tone.

He dove and rolled out of the way as five big Nightmares crashed down around him, their passage knocking everything from leaves to large branches to the ground in their wake.

"An ambush?" he gasped out, eyes widening in surprise.

He summoned his rose whip, coils lashing out as it lengthened. I rushed to his side to help, sliding under a Nightmare belly to get there. We put our backs together.

"I thought you said you were scanning the surroundings!" the redhead shouted, not looking at me as he focused his attention on the beast in front of him. His whip snapped out with a "crack", contacting a Nightmare's nose. It roared, rearing its head back as they continued to circle.

"I was!" I yelled back, also not looking at him, "Their energy just appeared out of nowhere!" One lunged. I dodged and roundhouse kicked it in the jaw. It stumbled and fell back, but didn't disappear.

What was wrong with me? A tiny spark had appeared, but that was all. Where was the glow? Come to think of it, I hadn't seen my light in a while. It had never completely failed me against a Nightmare, but it was dampened now for some reason. Thankfully, though, I could still hold my own against the creatures with brute strength alone. There were times when I loved having this body...

"A portal?" he questioned, slicing out with his whip in quick slashes.

"Huh? Oh, no. They appeared too quickly for that," I belatedly remembered what we were talking about. A set of giant teeth nearly nabbed me.

"We're sitting ducks here. Let's run," I suggested.

He nodded and we made a break for the nearby trees, leaping over and dodging Nightmares as we went. "Good thinking. That way we can fight on our own terms," he agreed, tapping his head as we searched for a good vantage point.

Dry leaves crackled under my pounding feet. I noticed with some jealousy that Kurama barely even seemed to stir the forest floor beneath him. No fair, fox-boy. You aren't allowed to excel at everything... it's just not natural.

The Nightmares chased us, following uncomfortably close behind.

"Perhaps they were concealing their energy," he thought out loud. Seriously? His brain just kept going and going, picking things completely and thoroughly apart even while in the middle of a mad dash from creatures with dangerously sharp, built-in weaponry.

I turned my head to gape at him for a moment before remembering I should be watching my feet.

"Can they do that?" I asked.

"Why don't you keep a closer eye out and you can tell me," he responded.

I gritted my teeth. Smartass. But I stretched out my awareness all the same, like sore muscles reaching far in a tired extension. Just let them try and catch us off guard this time.

The unpleasant, shadowy lights of the Nightmares, like guttering candles, followed right on our heels. I could even feel Kurama's energy, which was unusual. And not just unusual in that I was able to sense it, but unusual as in... well, it was strange.

It had a little bit of the consistency that I'd learned to associate with human spirit energy, but there was also a thick undercurrent of something decidedly demonic, swirling around in it, pooling, mixing...

Did this strange energy signature mean he really was a half-breed? Funny, I'd spent so much time around him lately, but I still knew almost nothing about the spirit fox - - or half spirit fox, whatever the case may be. I frowned and pushed those thoughts aside as I focused my full attention on my surroundings.

All this to say, my spirit awareness was turned all the way up. So when a few more pinpricks of light appeared without warning in front of us, I didn't think it was because I'd simply missed them until now.

"This way!" I shouted, pivoting to the right.

All the dark lights gave chase, following us through the thick undergrowth... no, not following...

Another wall of sickly light appeared in front of us, closing us off.

_Herding._

I skidded to a halt, and Kurama caught my lead.

"There's no way..." I half-whispered, "They can't be getting smart enough to strategize, can they?"

"Who knows..." he replied. The redhead closed his eyes, exhaling deeply as he settled into a defensive pose, ready for whatever came his way. His confident figure was hard to imitate.

.

.

.

We fought into the wee hours of the morning, fending off Nightmare after Nightmare. But it was hard, with my light misbehaving. We had to face the same Nightmares over and over until Kurama's whip finally caused enough damage to either send them running or send them to the other side of the river Styx. Somehow, we still survived the night, though not without some lumps and bruises of our own...

And worse: Koenma had called an emergency meeting scheduled to take place just a few hours after our shift ended. I groaned out loud just thinking about it. Somehow, news about demons and Nightmares and immortals didn't seem like it should be as dreadfully boring to listen to as it actually was in reality.

And when I finally arrived back at the temple, body aching and screaming for rest, I found the boss hadn't gotten the memo. So I bowed my (heavy) head to the inevitable. But then he just somehow couldn't get the idea through his thick skull that three hours of training was all he was going to get out of me for the day...

As demonstrated by the fact that he was still following me as I approached the temple.

.

.

.

"I told you, I have other things I have to do. Now get lost and leave me alone for the day," the girl's voice said loudly, muffled by its passage through the walls. Footsteps sounded as they clunked up the stairs.

"Always so serious... Ah! I know just the thing to cure you. We're having a New Year's Eve party, and - - " the deep voice I recognized as belonging to the yakuza boss from before replied.

"No," the girl's voice stated flatly.

"You need to loosen up, have some sake," he suggested, laughingly.

"No, thank you. I prefer to know what my body is doing at all times."

"Come on... It wasn't so bad the last time. All you did was start a table brawl, break some terribly expensive antiques, and sing a few carols."

She huffed.

"It'll be a real party, not for the faint of heart. But if you're brave enough..." he taunted her.

"Not buying it," she didn't take the bait.

"Suit yourself. But if you change your mind, don't say I didn't warn you. It won't be strictly G rated. There'll be real women there, if you catch my drift," the boss said with a shrug in his voice.

"Oh? Is silicone considered real now?" the girl quipped.

He grumbled, and we listened to them approach down the hallway.

"Quit bugging me, Boss. I won't be joining you," she gave her final answer as her purple head came into view around the doorway.

The girl disappeared from sight.

The boss came through right behind her. Not seeing the girl, he muttered aloud, "Huh... Where'd she go?" Turning back through the doorway, he left the way he came, closing the door automatically behind him.

The girl dropped down from the rafters, landing in front of the shut door. We watched her in silence. She sighed, relaxing, and crossed her arms behind her head.

The door crashed open, hitting her smack in the middle of the back with its knob, inducing an unhealthy-sounding "crack."

"Aaaaa!" she cried out, "Hey! Watch it, jackass!" as she delivered a swift kick that sent the boss flying far away - - back out into the snow, no doubt.

"Really," she huffed, crossing her arms in vexation.

"Glad to see you've finally decided to grace us with your presence at this meeting," Hati said sarcastically.

"I'm glad you're glad," she replied, unconcerned. The girl wandered over to the table, turning a chair around to sit backward, facing center.

.

**AN: Konbanwa: Good evening. Dozo: polite offering. -kun: Cute suffix usually for a little boy, or when talking to someone younger in age or lower in position. -sama: respectful way to address a superior, very polite. **

**I've been chasing the end of my pre-written material with each update, so I've been scrambling to write more. At times, it feels like the writing is getting harder to understand. I don't know... Feedback, please? **

I still have a deviantart account where I will be posting some pictures of characters, etc... to go with this story. Check it out if you want. I'm theanonymouspen . deviantart . com (no spaces)

Thank you for reading :)

**Preview: "The greatest ironies of life: having the right person at the wrong time, having the wrong person when the time is right, and finding out that you love someone after that person walks out of your sight..." - - Unknown **

**(Yes, I know I have an evil quote preview. Muahaha. Maybe it'll prompt you to review? Hint hint.) **

**Please REVIEW!**


	30. Flustered

**I was rereading my DTMB story reviews the other day when I was feeling particularly unmotivated, and they really made me wish that I wrote fast enough to post a chapter every day for all you lovely readers/reviewers. :] Seriously, you guys are the best and you always brighten my day, even when it's been kind of a crappy one. Your comments are very encouraging, and I've already written 300 pages (!) under your constant support. That's like a full-length novel, folks. So I just want to say... Thank you all so very much! (Confetti)**

**_bbst:_ Don't worry. If they killed each other, it would kind of cut the story a bit short. Haha. **

**_Ninjawolf1313:_ That's a clever guess, and I wish I'd thought of that, but sorry, no. All will be revealed in due time. It's on the schedule ;) (Yes, I'm lame enough to have a story schedule. I lose track otherwise and my writing flounders aimlessly).**

**_Bananamush:_ I do try to post often, so I'm glad it's making you happy. You've been such a faithful reviewer from nearly the beginning! :D I'm very grateful. A certain someone may be getting to her... but will another someone get to her first? (Le suspense!) ... Explode? Where did you get that idea (shifty eyes) Have you been reading my notes?**

**_Angel of Randomosity:_ I have a feeling that you'll really like one of the chapters that's coming up. It has a lot more Hati in it. And please feel free to enjoy Shima-kun as much as you want... since he will be playing a larger role from now on. **

**_Puppylove7:_ New readers are so exciting! Welcome, welcome. Come on in, wipe your feet on the mat, etcetera, etcetera... He may take some time to be fully "restored", but you're absolutely right. He's getting there. Though I can't promise he'll be exactly as he was before, hopefully, you'll find the few changes to your liking. I do update frequently, so keep checking it out! :]**

**_Guest:_ Is it strange that I'm ridiculously happy you watched Gokusen? The J-Drama is my favorite too. Is it just me who thinks Sawada Shin with red hair is reminiscent of Kurama? And I haven't finished the manga either, though there's a chapter at the end I want to read... plodding along. Hmm... and Friday just saying eff it all and letting Rikyu go... that doesn't seem much like her, does it? Don't worry. No doppelgangers here, but you may be onto something... Teehee. More love for Hati! Yay! :D Haha. Orangetop. Nicknames are great, aren't they?**

_**. . .**_

"_**W**hen you cut a fig in half, it looks like a heart. That's why they say its bittersweetness… is the flavor of love. A Pakistani I knew in New York told me that._

_**B**ut for me, the flavor of love… tastes like that lousy cookie you made**." **_

― _**Hana Yori Dango Returns**_

_**. . .**_

Despite my threatening invitation, I was a little bit surprised when Shimabukuro actually appeared.

He stood uncomfortably on the other side of the doorway, looking down at me with a mock-apathetic expression as he scratched the back of his head. The guy didn't even offer a greeting.

Admittedly, I couldn't think of anything to say to him either, so I just stared back.

"Don't get the wrong idea," he finally stated, hand on neck, "I just came to teach you a lesson..."

I quirked an eyebrow up at him.

"It's _Shimabukuro_, dammit. Now say it," he drawled.

"You're late," I told him cheerfully, "I was expecting you ages ago, Shimabu-kun."

Crack. His carefully nonchalant expression split in two as he gritted his teeth together. Shimabukuro lifted a fist defensively in front of him and took a deep breath, no doubt to correct me.

Instead, I grabbed his "proffered" wrist and dragged him inside, deaf to his spluttering protests.

"Well, then," I let go, facing him as I clapped my hands together, making sure to smile hugely, "What should we do now, Shimabu-kun?"

He sighed loudly and plopped down on the wooden floorboards in resignation, putting an elbow on the low table and propping his head up on his hand for support. "I'm hungry. Feed me," he demanded.

"I suppose it _is_ nearly time for lunch..." I decided to humor him.

Wandering into the kitchen, I began the obnoxiously long process of searching for edibles in unidentifiable Japanese packages. Finally picking some out, I hoped for the best, regretting not having found an international food mart yet.

I started to make double portions of the meal I would have made sooner or later for myself anyway, then decided to make four. Genkai and Yukina were around, after all. A loud stomach rumble from the adjoining room interrupted my boiling of the water. Better make that five.

"If you're not doing anything," I called, "Perhaps you could patch up this window. You know... clean up the glass shards on the sill and stuff... and you might want to cover the gaping opening with some paper or something."

No answer. I wondered if he'd heard me.

I started chopping the vegetables and fish, preparing to add them to the noodles.

Momentarily, the boy marched through the room, heading straight for the window. I smiled as I caught sight of the unfamiliar tape and paper in his hand. So he had been listening to my invitation, after all.

Underneath that abrasive exterior, he wasn't really as indifferent as he pretended to be. Some tough guy...

I smiled, but bowed my head so he wouldn't see, as I resumed slicing the ingredients.

The water boiled. I added the noodles and started pulling bowls down off the shelves to set the table with.

Meanwhile, Shimabukuro was busy taping away methodically in little squares.

I stood next to him and stirred the pot, discretely watching him work through purple bangs.

His light brown eyes slid over to me, and for a second I had the guilty thought that I'd been caught staring.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" he suddenly exclaimed. I jumped, highly embarrassed, and began stammering nervously.

"You're letting the pot boil over! Give me that," he demanded, snatching the spoon from my shocked fingers. Oh. So that's what he was shouting about. Relief flooded me.

He turned the heat down and stirred with a very serious, concentrated look on his face before setting the wooden spoon down across the top of the pot.

"If you leave the spoon like this, it won't boil over," he educated me. I nodded to show I was listening.

"Jeez... what kind of a girl are you?" he grumbled, resuming his job with the tape.

"What kind of _guy_ are _you_?" I asked defensively, "I mean, you actually know how to cook? Where'd you learn all this stuff? Yakuza training 101?" I asked jokingly.

He was silent for so long that I thought he wasn't going to answer. I wondered vaguely if my abrasive humor had offended him. "My grandma..." he finally said in a quiet, almost embarrassed way.

I smiled wider. This guy... he was really so _sweet_ on the inside that it was almost laughable in the way it contrasted his edgy appearance.

My heart squeezed a little painfully as I realized that he reminded me of another boy I knew... one who was also just a big softie underneath all that... I missed that boy.

My eyes grew soft as I stared up at him, looking through him to a different time and place, seeing another beloved face beyond his.

'Hm?" he turned his head to look at me, "What are you just standing there like that for?" His eyebrows furrowed questioningly.

Suddenly, he realized the implications of that statement. "Your noodles are overcooking!" he jumped to rescue them,"and your vegetables still aren't even cut! Out of the way," the boy reached for the cutting board, trying to step around me.

Unfortunately, I also tried to move aside... in the same direction.

He tried the other direction, as I decided to do the same.

In an awkward shuffle, we each tried unsuccessfully to get out of the other's way.

Just stand still, I told myself exasperatedly, finally convincing my feet to obey. There, now he could go around me.

Or he could have the same idea at the exact same time and we could end up awkwardly stuck in very close proximity to one another...

I tried not to breathe, pressing as close as I could back against the counter.

We each waited for the other to move. The uncomfortable silence dragged on.

He was so close I could feel his body heat warm me... is that why it was getting so hot in here?

Incredibly flustered, I felt a fierce blush creep up my cheeks, and I ducked my head to hide the expression beneath violet bangs.

With an irritated huff that stirred the hair on the top of my head, he grabbed me by the shoulders and physically moved me aside.

Taking up the knife, he began cutting the remaining vegetables in short, deft strokes. I noticed then a slight tinge of pink that remained brushed across his cheeks. Well, at least I hadn't been the only one...

Suddenly, I got that prickling feeling on the back of my neck. You know, like someone, somewhere was watching. I turned around in a slow circle, but there was no one else. Shrugging mentally - - it was probably just paranoia at being caught in such an embarrassing situation - - I went to set the table.

Shimabukuro continued to work on making lunch, but even the silence was ten times more awkward after that unexpected moment.

I decided to sit at the opposite side of the table from him while we ate our lunch. I just hoped that Genkai would forgive him for the window enough to eat beside him when she saw that he'd tried his best to patch it up.

.

.

.

"Do you like that boy... Shima...um..." Yukina asked me later when we were alone.

"Shimabukuro," I supplied automatically, waving a hand, before the question really registered.

I peered suspiciously up at her: "Why do you ask?"

"Well, it's just that the two of you seemed rather, ah... close earlier when I stopped by the kitchen," the ice maiden struggled to find the words.

I gaped across the table at her. "Uh-ah-aaaa..." I spluttered incoherently, "No! I mean, it's not what you think it was! I know it looked, uh... strange, but it wasn't what it looked like. Unless it looked like he was trying to cut the vegetables, because that's what he was doing. Except I was in the way, and then he had to go around me. But it was terribly awkward until he finally did. Uah..." I let my head fall limply against the tabletop. It hit a little harder than I had expected, but that was okay. Maybe a few more times, and I would forget everything...

Yukina giggled behind a hand, "It's alright, Kuronosuke-san. I won't tell Botan."

Botan! My heart leapt to my throat at the possibility. "Thanks," I mumbled finally, "Ah... not that there's anything _to _tell, really... Just an awkward moment that meant nothing. Yup. Nothing at all." I laughed a bit hysterically, feeling like I might never be able to stop.

"More tea?" she changed the topic, for which I was grateful. My nervous laughter died down quickly, partly as a defense so I wouldn't choke on the hot beverage.

.

.

.

The next evening I was kicking back after yet another patrol followed by a hard day of training. I stood over the kitchen sink, munching contentedly on a bowl of cereal - - the oats kind.

"We've arrived!" the reaper's familiar voice announced as she burst in, not even knocking. Her sudden appearance startled me, and I spluttered, choking a bit on the milk.

My forearm banged against the counter and I winced, gently rubbing the large new bruise that was a side effect of my nightly escapades. That one had come from a close encounter with an enraged Nightmare, that had fortunately barely missed slashing me wide open - - though its tail whip did enough damage on its own, trust me.

My mind returned to present as the pain subsided and I cleared my throat with some difficulty: "Um... that's nice. So... why exactly are you here?" I tried to keep the question from sounding rude.

"Oh? Yukina didn't tell you?" Keiko asked, coming through the door behind Botan.

Just then the ice maiden entered the room, "Ah! Sorry, Kuronosuke-san. I meant to mention it sooner." She bowed in apology.

"Uh, no problem," I waved it off, uncomfortable with her bowing like that. I'd been with her for weeks and she was still always painfully polite.

"Anyway," Botan interrupted, flouncing over, "We're here to discuss New Year's plans!"

I gave her a blank look.

"You know... we missed Christmas with you," she said pointedly, and my cheeks flushed slightly in remembrance, "But you told me you wanted to experience an authentic Japanese New Year's celebration. Remember?"

"Oh... right," some recollection of that came back to me.

"So here we are," Botan finished, grinning, and set about unloading a large paper bag.

"Great. Now what?" I inquired, peering over at the items.

"Now we make mochi!" the bluenette announced.

"Mochi?" I asked.

"A traditional sticky rice cake," Keiko explained.

"Yes, I know. Actually, I love mochi. But I thought we were preparing for New Year's," a puzzled look crossed my face.

"Mochi is a very traditional New Year's food. But of course, we have to prepare it before January 1st if we want to be able to eat it then," the educated brunette informed me.

"Oh. Is that so?" I responded.

"Yes. Kazuma always insists on eating it together when I come for the festival," Yukina supplied with a small laugh.

I smiled, picturing those two together. "Well, then. What are we waiting for?" I pounded a fist into my hand, eager to begin.

.

.

.

With Keiko's help, we managed to prepare quite a few of the little rice cakes - - despite Botan's interference. Actually, the bluenette informed us about halfway through that she'd only ever seen someone make mochi on a Japanese cooking show. Figures.

But it was still fun to be with the girls, to listen to their chatter - - ordinary and otherwise - - and even to join their cheerful conversation. It felt good to be there, sharing that space with such people. It would have seemed that the gathering was almost normal, despite the presence of a demon and a reaper, if it hadn't been for the frequent mention of our extraordinary boys.

Yukina brewed a pot of tea and stepped outside, on her way to find Genkai and offer her a cup. She returned soon thereafter, taking Botan by the elbow, saying that she needed to borrow her. My brow furrowed slightly. That was strangely forward behavior for the timid ice maiden.

Keiko interrupted the silence after a moment, saying that she needed a restroom. So I sat alone in the kitchen, cradling my teacup as I stared into its golden depths.

But not a moment had passed before there was a slight rap on the front door. My ears perked up and I headed over curiously, pulling the door open.

"Eh? What... what are you doing here?" I stared up into the face of Shimabukuro, his eyebrows crinkled together in a perpetual pout.

"Don't misunderstand," he crossed his arms unconcernedly behind his head, "I left my tape here. I just came to get it back."

"Is that so?" I stepped aside with some confusion as he brushed his way past me over the threshold.

Blinking slowly, I watched his back cross the room. "You came all this way... just to get your tape back?"

"Do you have a problem with that?" he asked, bristling.

"Ah... no. Not really," I followed him into the kitchen, where he searched for the roll of tape. A slight frown creased between my brows. Really... What was that guy thinking?

He took a moment to examine the patch-job on the window. I slumped down into a kitchen chair; leaning forward, I propped my elbows on the table and rested my head on my hands, watching him.

Shimabukuro picked up the roll of tape, fiddling with it. "How's the window holding up?" he questioned strangely, still facing said window.

"Eh?" I was a bit surprised he'd actually asked about something like that, "Ah... It's fine... Thanks."

My eyes followed his shoulder blades as they came up in a shrug. "Well, the old lady should probably get a professional to put some glass in there," he said in a carefree tone.

"Hey, now. You broke it. Shouldn't you be in charge of something like that?" I replied, half-joking.

He turned his head to look at me with a frown, mouth opening to make a retort. It never came. His eyebrows uncreased for a brief moment before he recovered.

"Shim - - ?" I began to question, as he left the tape on the counter and marched across the room toward me.

His hand closed firmly around my forearm. "WHAT IS THIS?" he demanded to know, yanking me up to my feet.

I winced. "Ow!" I protested, "Get your fingers out of my bruise!"

Shimabukuro ignored me completely, reprimanding as he dragged me forcefully across the kitchen, "Why don't you have ice on this? Jeez..."

"Hey! What are you doing? You can't just bust in here and order me around like this, Shimabu-kun... _Really_," my complaints fell on deaf ears.

He ripped open the freezer door and rummaged around in the ice tray.

"How do you expect an injury to heal if you don't take good care of it?" he scolded.

"Actually, I think what you're doing might be causing more damage," I examined the blue and purple skin under his fingers.

He still wasn't listening. Grabbing a bundle of cloth-wrapped ice, he applied it firmly to the wound. I shivered. Cold...

And yet, the other hand that he used to grip my arm was warm. Hesitantly, my eyes traced the line of his arm back up to his face. He looked so focused, brows drawn together, mouth curved downward pensively.

Dark lashes shaded his eyes as he stared down at the makeshift ice pack he was holding. There was something about those eyes, a softness, almost. It was warm and deep. Funny... He really was... a handsome man.

A small blush warmed my cheeks. The sensation was almost pleasant.

Slowly, my arm began to numb. Noticing the cold disappear, my eyes shifted back to the white tips of his fingers.

I cleared my throat. "Aren't your fingers cold?" I began hesitantly, "I can still hold an ice pack myself, you know. Just because I'm bruised doesn't make me an invalid."

His features shifted, taking up their guarded, angular look once more. "In that case, why didn't you just say so from the beginning? Here," he retorted loudly, placing my hand on the cloth as he let go.

The wrapping slipped, and some of the ice cubes fell out. How did he hold all of this together?

Shimabukuro laughed at me, "Your hands are so small..." a smile tugged at his lips, and he shook his head. "Are you sure they can handle the cold? They look fragile," the boy teased lightly.

"I'll show you fragile," I tightened my grip on the ice pack, and swung in a punch with my injured arm.

But Shimabukuro chose that moment to bend over and gather up the ice. It was a wide miss. With some difficulty, I regained my balance; my fist clenched and my teeth ground together in irritation.

"What are you doing?" he questioned my disgruntled look with a frown of his own, straightening and dumping the ice in the sink.

"Nothing," I growled out, eyebrow twitching.

He just shrugged.

"Keep the ice on it while I'm gone," he made for the door.

Shimabukuro turned in the threshold, "Oh. I heard you turned down the Boss' offer of a New Year's party."

Was that the real reason why he'd come all this way? "Did he send you here to recruit me again?" I asked suspiciously.

He scoffed with a laugh, "Don't be ridiculous. Actually... it's probably for the best that you don't come." His look toned down, a strangely serious look coming over his features. I couldn't really tell what it was; something pondering with eyebrows creased in a concerned sort of way.

But since I couldn't read his expression, I tried to brush it off. "Oh?" I teased, "What's this? Are you worried I'll wipe the floor with you again?"

His back stiffened, look shifting to a familiar abrasive one: "Not at all!" he retorted loudly, sliding the door open with a bang.

"Nine o' clock, New Year's Day! Meet me at the bus stop," he shouted over his shoulder, "Be ready. If you make me wait, I'm leaving without you!" The door slammed shut behind him.

"Honestly," I grumbled to myself, "What's his problem?"

A giggle sounded over my shoulder and I peered around into the darkness of the hallway. I had figured at least one person would be watching.

"So... are you going to go?" Keiko asked with laughing eyes.

I shrugged and turned back to the kitchen, gaze lighting on the roll of tape still sitting on the counter. "Ah," I exclaimed softly in surprise.

Crossing the room, I freed a hand from the ice to pick it up. "Well... Guess I don't have a choice," I replied, feigning irritation. And though I couldn't help the brief smile that broke through, I tried my best to hide it from the curious girl.

"By the way? Where are Botan and Yukina?" I questioned, changing subjects.

"Well, when Yukina spotted that boy, she invited Botan out around the side of the temple to see the birds instead," Keiko smiled in an understanding manner.

"Is that so?" I said, and chuckled.

The same door Shimabukuro had just left through slammed open. "Hey, hey! Who was that?" an energetic voice rang out as the blue-haired reaper bounced into the room.

"Who?" I feigned ignorance.

"You know... That lion-haired boy," Botan made a cat-face.

"Ah... That's..." I faced away, looking at the patched window, "A guy," I evaded.

A crash sounded from behind as the ferry girl fell over. "Hey! That's not fair!" She protested, "I want to know!"

I just smiled and refilled my tea.

.

.

.

"What's this?" a man's smooth voice said from the shadows, "I leave for but a few days and come back to find that once again you are not taking your orders seriously."

"Keh. Is that all you came here to say?" Rikyu twisted his head away from the voice's source defiantly as he reclined on the ground. He propped his head up on his hand and stared off into the endless gloom.

"I hear you found the Sleeper, and yet you _still_ managed to miss your chance to defeat her," the deep voice continued, disapprovingly.

Rikyu remained silent.

"Tsuki-Yomi is not pleased," the man warned, "If he does not start to see results soon, he may send another to do the job." The threat was delivered lightly; business as usual.

Rikyu stood, growling, and turned to face the man. His lip curled in disdain, marring his angelic face: "_No_. I will finish the job. The girl is _mine_. Don't forget it."

The voice scoffed. "Heh. As long as the Sleeper doesn't hinder our goal, I couldn't care less what happens with that girl. Do as you wish."

.

**AN: Dun dun duuuuun... a dramatic twist appears! Just when you think Kurama and Friday are finally getting closer, will the reappearance of Shimabukuro come between them? Review to let me know what you think. You know you want to... ;]**

**Also, I realize we're already on Chapter 30, but I feel I must take a moment to explain something, regardless. First off, I have received many, many (many) comments on what a jerk Kurama is. This is not a revelation to me. I am, after all, the one who made him that way (though I think some of you may be taking this a little further than I intended?). However, I would like to point out that he is improving (and you can rest assured that he'll get over his issues and be back to his normal self by the end of the story. This is kind of a redemptive story for him too). **

**My justification for my actions: After reading many, many (many) stories where Kurama is forever a perfect gentleman (nevermind Youko) who is always _so_ easy to fall in love with (love isn't actually that way in reality, ever) I decided to mix it up a bit. So, with the proper motivation (i.e. the "threatening" of his human family), he becomes "a jerk." Now, you may not like it, but I am at least one person who thinks it's more interesting, and quite frankly, this one person is writing the story. **

**Apology cookies for you all if I have disturbed you with my long-winded explanations in any way.**

**Moving on...**

**I feel I must also offer an explanation for the seemingly random quote. It just got me thinking about how love really is that way... how it can be represented by seemingly the smallest or most insignificant of things (like a half-used roll of tape, just as a random example). And so in the course of a couple weeks, it's quickly become one of my favorite quotes of all time. **

**And yes, it's completely unrelated to the fact that it was the only moment in the entire Hana Yori Dango series where I cried my eyes out (which is something I rarely do). Actually, that series was really stressful to watch, but once I started, I felt I had to finish because how else would I get the redemptive ending? It does have a beautiful soundtrack, though, if you're looking for some heart-wrenching music to listen to.**

I still have a deviantart account where I will be posting some pictures of characters, etc... to go with this story. Check it out if you want. I'm theanonymouspen . deviantart . com (no spaces)

Thank you for reading :)

**Preview: New Year's Eve arrives? And Friday actually dresses up for it? Throw in a drunken love confession and who knows what will happen...**

**Please REVIEW!**


	31. Fireworks

**I really hope no one took my last AN about "the jerk" personally :/ It wasn't intended to be a reprimand either. I totally understand how you guys feel and I would feel the same way. But as an author, I still have a soft spot for Mr. Jerk, so it makes me sad when he gets death threats… this may also have to do with the fact that I've written more chapters than I've yet to post (hold your fire!) and I know where the story is going… Consider this my formal apology if I have offended anyone. **

**Also... Wow. What a review response. Who knew all I had to do was throw in a little fluff? ... Or is it because it's Friday and you knew I would post? Haha. ;]**

**_Bananamush:_ Well, as long as you love Friday, it's all good. She will continue to bask in the glow of your approval... And I'm glad I could provide another perspective for you. I try to keep things interesting...**

**_Guest1:_ Heehee. I like your sense of humor. You should be my end-of-chapter dramatic summarizer; not gonna lie, what you wrote reminded me a little of George's narrations at the end of YYH episodes. And Friday... doesn't know how to juggle... oh noes! :O**

**_Guest2:_ Glad you loved the cuteness. And Yukina is more clever than she lets on... though she still has her moments of head-scratching innocence. I'm so sorry I cut his hair! Poor Kurama... That's probably why he's such a jerk now... Haha. Just kidding. :] I went to a mochi-making festival, but I didn't make any... I just ate it. Ehehe. I'm ashamed I didn't remember about the Orangetop nickname :'( Fruits Basket is my favorite manga, and the only one I've read all the way through, but it was a while ago, so I forgot... And it's totally like Friday to try and punch him. Haha. If she hadn't missed though, he would've probably punched her back... and then been pounded into the floor by her. I've posted a section on Hana Yori Dango for you at the end of the chapter. :)**

**_Guest3:_ Yay! You love Shima-kun :) Warm, fuzzy author's feelings. Glad to see your romance detector is functional. **

**_Puppylove7:_ Please do stick around :] It'll be fun (I hope). The man at the end was not Tsuki-Yomi. Some villains refer to themselves in third person, but even for T-Y, that would be a little weird... You'll meet the anonymous man and T-Y soon enough... Just finished writing the chapter that introduces one of them, actually.**

**_Angel of Randomosity:_ Glad he has your permission to date Friday. Haha. And I'm flattered you thought it was so cute :] The "reprimand" wasn't personal... but I do love him, so I kinda feel like I have to say something... :/ Aaaaand, may I point out that (if I remember correctly) you thought Hati was a jerk at the beginning and look how that turned out. Lol. I swear, if I'm not careful you'll steal him right from under my nose and smuggle him home with you. ;] And you may have a cookie. I actually just made some yesterday...**

**_Ninjawolf1313:_ Rikyu is actually one of my favorites, so I'm glad you like him. And he _is_ putting on more layers... Ohoho (forgive my inane sense of humor). We shall see if your Shima/Friday/Kura feels are on track shortly... And I'm glad you don't mind the "new" Kurama. One Kurama, with extra spice coming right up... ;] Haha. Kurama as a love-crazed poodle? Now that's something. Lol. **

_**. . .**_

"_**F**ireworks had for her a direct and magical appeal. Their attraction was more complex than that of any other form of art. They had pattern and sequence, colour and sound, brilliance and mobility; they had suspense, surprise, and a faint hint of danger; above all, they had the supreme quality of transience, which puts the keenest edge on beauty and makes it touch some spring in the heart which more enduring excellences cannot reach**." ― Jan Struther**_

_**. . .**_

"Long time no see," a rough voice greeted me as I climbed on the bus.

"Yeah," I replied and laughed sheepishly, "Sorry about that. Things have been pretty busy."

"Ah, that's right. I've been meaning to ask you. I heard you're not coming to our party. What's the matter? Did we scare you off for good the last time?" old man Larry questioned gruffly.

I hummed noncommittally, "Actually, I already had plans for New Year's. Though I definitely wouldn't be dumb enough to drink whatever you guys were passing around at the Christmas Party ever again, that's for sure." I crossed my arms definitively over my chest.

Larry laughed, "Sorry, sorry... I didn't know you couldn't handle your liquor."

"I said I didn't drink," I protested with a pout.

"To each his own..." Larry mused, staring straight ahead at the road.

His eyes flicked back to me in the rearview mirror, crinkling up at the corners, "At any rate, a Happy New Year's Eve to you, and good fortune for the year." He dipped his head.

I blinked. It seemed the holiday had snuck up on me. Nodding back, I offered up a well-wishing of my own.

.

.

.

And so New Year's Eve came, as did Botan.

She breezed in through the entry with a large box in hand. I eyed it suspiciously. "What's that?" I asked.

"Ta-da!" she opened the lid to reveal a fancy kimono.

I looked at it with hesitation. "I'm not sure I can wear something like that," I told her. As a foreigner, I would feel a bit awkward donning traditional Japanese garb.

"Don't be silly," she flapped a hand at me, "You can't stay here for so long and get away with not once wearing a kimono."

"If you say so..." I reluctantly agreed, "Though, I'll probably need some help putting it on right."

"It's a deal, then," Botan volunteered her help, and wasted no time in ushering me towards an adjoining room.

I repressed a sigh and submitted myself to the inevitable as I was jostled about by energetic hands filled with bundles of fabric.

So many layers... It may be traditional, but it certainly wasn't practical. Botan struggled to help me into the cumbersome garment, though it seemed like she needed more arms than the two she had.

There was a burst of noise from the other side of the door. It seemed the others had arrived.

"Ah! Keiko! Can I borrow you for a minute?" Botan requested, dropping her hold on the folds of the kimono as she slammed the door open.

"Hey!" I yelped, gathering the top around me before it could slip too far down my back, "Close the door, Botan!" I demanded.

"Oops. Sorry about that," she said sheepishly. Pulling Keiko into the room, she shut the door firmly behind.

They chattered a bit about this and that as they worked. Mostly, I just listened to the two good friends as they relived shared experiences and discussed plans for the coming year.

Eventually, they managed to somehow secure all the heavy layers of the kimono onto my slim frame, and the two girls moved on to hair and makeup. I sighed, but let them do as they pleased. Keiko yanked a brush through my hair, trying to free it from the tangled mess it had gotten itself into, apologizing profusely every time she hit a snag that jerked my head back. I reassured her I was fine. Meanwhile, Botan scrambled around in a large makeup bag, retrieving this and that and lining the containers up on the counter.

Together, they pulled my hair up onto my head, securing it with a collection of pins, then moved on to construct what felt like an entire mask on top of my face. Finally, Botan pulled the last brush away, zipping it back up in the bag.

"There. It's finished," Botan stood back, admiring her handiwork.

I lifted an arm, twisting to look down at the long sleeve that hung heavily from it. "Thanks," I mumbled, "It looks nice, you two."

"But you haven't even seen it yet!" Botan protested, "And after we took so long to fix your hair too."

"Oh. Well..." I tried to think up a tactful way to avoid looking in a mirror.

"Don't you want to see how you look?" Botan asked with wide, pleading eyes. I sighed. She would be heartbroken if I told her the truth that I didn't much care.

"Sure, then," I caved.

Her face brightened, and she herded me toward the door, Keiko following close behind.

I paused with my hand on the door handle. What would the boys think, seeing me like this? Would they think I was silly? Would they stop thinking of me as a teammate and start treating me like some helpless girl?

Better make a break for it, then. I took a deep breath and shoved the door open, dashing out into the hall.

That was when I learned the hard way that you can't run in a kimono.

The fabric tangled around my legs, restricting my movement. With a small yelp, I stumbled, watching the wooden boards rush up to meet me.

Someone gripped the obi belted around my waist and pulled me carefully back up. The hands rested there momentarily before lifting away.

I blinked up with genuine surprise at my redheaded rescuer.

"Botan would be put out if you ruined her hard work in just a few moments from finishing it," he explained, hands in pockets as he cocked his head to look down at me, and instructed, "Smaller steps. You can't stride like a man in a kimono."

An irritated flush climbed to my face. Well, _excuse_ _me_ for walking like a man. I don't mince my steps.

I hid the pink tinge by straightening out the cloth around my shins. Then, sticking my nose in the air, I attempted to glide down the hall. I only tripped a few more times along the way. The sound of the boys' laughter followed me.

I opened the door to one of the bathrooms I didn't use often - - specifically because I knew it had a floor length mirror somewhere inside. I caught a glimpse of someone already in the room with an "Oh! Excuse me," and turned quickly to leave. Wait a second.

I twisted my head around to examine the figure. She looked over her shoulder back at me.

Her slender face was dusted with white powder. Dark lines arced above her lashes, framing honeyed brown eyes. The color on her bottom lip was painted on as a thin, intense sliver.

Who was that?

Purple hair was swept up away from her face and pinned up lavishly. Purple hair... Purple hair!

No way. That woman... Was me?

It must have been, since she wore an incredulous look on her face that perfectly reflected the way I felt. Quickly, I looked away and fled from the room.

"So... How do you like it?" Botan asked eagerly, clasping her hands together in front of her.

I tried on a smile, fidgeting a bit under her intense gaze. "It's nice," I assured her.

Beaming full-force, the bluenette towed Keiko and Yukina away so that they could all get ready.

"Girls..." Yusuke complained, flopping back onto the couch, "It always takes them forever just to put clothes on. What's so hard about getting dressed, anyway?"

I noticed that all the boys were already in what they would be wearing for the night. All but Hiei had donned a traditional, men's-style kimono.

Neither Hati nor Koenma showed up, and I wondered what exactly beings like them did on holidays such as New Year's. Oh, well. I guess that meant they would be missing out on the fun.

.

.

.

"It's so busy here..." I commented, surveying the lively crowds in the streets before us.

"That's New Year's for you!" Botan cut in, "Ah! I see a stand that sells sparklers. I'll be back in a jiffy, 'kay?"

"Sure. Take your time..." I muttered, blinking slowly as I looked around, still trying to take it all in.

A lion's mane.

"Hey, guys," I got the others' attention, "I'll be back in a minute too."

Without waiting for a response, I wound my way through the crowded street, finally getting the hang of walking in a kimono. I came to a halt at the side of a vendor's stall. A red-orange mop of hair stuck out from beyond the wooden supports of the stand.

"Shimabu-kun!" I greeted cheerfully.

"Hah?" his eyes took on a confused look, face going slightly slack, as he heard my voice. Shimabukuro turned his head this way and that, looking for the source.

"Over here," I said.

Stepping out around the stall, he looked down and promptly froze.

I clasped the fan I held in both hands behind my back and simply stared back up at him, waiting. Slowly, my smile turned to a look of confusion.

Was something wrong? Shimabukuro was certainly acting strangely. And what was with that weird look on his face? I couldn't quite grasp what it was about. My head cocked to the side as I tried to read him.

"A woman," he finally deadpanned.

My teeth ground together. "Of course! What did you think I was? A duck?" I demanded.

"...Ah..." he seemed at a loss for words.

"And will you cut it out with that weird look you're giving me?" I ordered with a frown, whacking him over the head with my folded fan.

Shimabukuro's jaw snapped closed, and he blinked rapidly, like he was trying to clear his jumbled thoughts.

"Oh, good. You're still the same as ever," he observed with a relieved expression, rubbing the top of his head.

"_What's that?"_ I growled out, crossing my arms.

"No, nothing..." he hastened to assure me, holding his hands out before him in a pacifying gesture.

"Whatever," I abandoned that conversational track, "By the way, what are you doing here?"

"Eh? Well, that's..." he rubbed the back of his neck, "The boss likes us to help with the festivals," Shimabukuro confessed, shrugging.

"I see," I told him, before spotting a familiar shade of blue bobbing nearby in the crowd.

"Well, I should get going," I declared reluctantly, "I'll see you real soon, Shimabu-kun!" I waved back to him as I moved away from the stand.

"Right..." he stared after me.

"Shimabu_-kun_," I heard a male "family" member tease from behind, "We need your help over here!"

"HEY, YOU! Cut it out! Or do you want to see how far I can shove my fist down your throat!?" Shimabukuro's shouting voice threatened.

I laughed quietly behind my hand, lips curving upward in an amused smile as I returned to the group.

.

.

.

Botan guided us up to the top of a hill, where we lit our sparklers in the growing dark and watched the sticks blaze with color. Each one was beautiful.

But they were nothing compared to what followed. At precisely midnight, the whole world seemed to burst to life. People cheered, their shouts heralding the new year as showers of fireworks bloomed into existence overhead. Somewhere in the distance, bells tolled, a deep and penetrating sound.

Forgetting my carefully arranged clothing, I flopped backward onto the grassy knoll, gazing up at the sky, overwhelmed. I couldn't recall ever having seen such fireworks. It felt like my eyes couldn't grow large enough to see their radiance in full. Greedily, they drank the colors in.

And the darkness disappeared, chased away by the lights of such brilliance...

But where was mine?

.

.

.

Tapping my foot with nervous energy, I waited at the bus stop. Glancing at my watch that I had worn especially for this occasion, it read 9:05. I'd already been here for ten whole minutes, but there was still no sight of the boy. Honestly... Who was waiting for who now? I should just leave. That'd teach him.

I shifted the bag I was carrying on my shoulder. It was unusual for me to bring along a purse-like object of any kind, but it had a purpose. The roll of tape inside clunked against my communicator dully.

9:15

9:20

Where was that boy?

9:32

9:34

9:35

9:35 and a half...

A bus pulled up. Brow furrowed angrily, I stormed up the steps. Seeing an unfamiliar driver only served to worsen my mood. Sourly, I plopped down on the padded seat and crossed my arms over my chest.

That boy... I was going to go and give him a piece of my mind. He wouldn't get away so easily. My eyes narrowed in irritation.

.

.

.

Knock. Knock.

No answer.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

Silence. I tapped my foot.

KnockKnockKnockKnockKnock.

Nothing...

BANG!

I slammed the door open, abandoning my earlier attempt at proper etiquette.

A group of rough-looking yakuza men jumped up, startled, from their gambling and spun to face me.

"WHO ARE YOU!"

"YOU! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?"

"YOU CAN'T EVEN KNOCK?"

"I did knock!" I shouted back angrily, clenching my fist.

"EH?"

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?"

"SPEAK UP, GIRLIE!"

I blinked, standing down. What on earth...?

"Forgive them, lass. They're just dealing with their hangovers in their own way," a familiar voice approached.

"Larry?" I exclaimed in surprise, turning to face him.

"Cotton," he said.

"Eh?" I deadpanned.

"Their ears are stuffed with cotton," he told me.

I slumped, disbelieving.

They had apparently just remembered this themselves, and were curiously pulling the plugs of cotton out of each others ears. I stared on incredulously.

"What are you doing here?" they started in again.

I gritted my teeth, feeling a growing headache that had nothing to do with alcohol. "Shimabukuro. Where is he?" I said dangerously, teetering at my rope's end.

They shrunk back a step before seeming to remember that I was just one girl.

"Why should we tell you?" one demanded to the others' agreeing clamor.

"Let her do what she wants," a loud voice commanded, and they jumped.

"Boss!"

"Boss."

"_Boss..."_

I nodded at the tall man. He was still dressed in a formal kimono, but it draped open over his obi, revealing an array of tattoos. His hair stuck out in a disheveled way.

"He's back there," the boss jerked his head down a hallway.

I narrowed my eyes determinedly and stalked off down the corridor. He'd better have a good excuse for ditching me this morning.

Shoving the door open that the boss indicated, I started to call out to the boy: "Shima - - !"

I stopped. He was sound asleep, slumped against the wall, eyes closed peacefully.

My irritation faded, and I came forward hesitantly. Kneeling down beside him, I looked into his face.

Lipstick. My brow furrowed and I gritted my teeth, suddenly annoyed beyond reason. Get a hold of yourself! It's just a little smudge of rouge on his cheek. It's not like you're even his girlfriend. And he hadn't been asking you out on a date either. Calming thoughts...

I carefully smoothed my expression, but felt no regret as I poked his face slowly, prodding him awake.

"Shimabu-kun..." I said lowly.

He moaned and tried to swat my hand away, head lolling to the side.

"_Shimabu-kun,"_ I tried a little more urgently, pushing harder with my finger.

"Shimabu-kun," I called again, peering into his face.

His eyes slowly fluttered open, gaze still heavy. He blinked up blearily into my face, close to his own.

"GAAAAAAHHH!" he exclaimed, lids shooting open as he launched himself away from me.

I stood, crossing my arms over my chest. "_Really!"_ I huffed, "I waited a long time for you this morning, and this is the kind of greeting I get? Do you have any idea what time it is?"

He rubbed his face and looked around, still half-asleep, searching for a clock with no success.

Shimabukuro yawned. "Alright, alright. I get it. Well, you're here now, so just give me a minute to get dressed, then we can go," he finally replied.

"Fine," I turned to exit the room and found the boss and Larry standing in the doorway, watching. I frowned.

"What's that look for?" the boss asked in a low tone as I passed, "Are you perhaps jealous?" The corner of his mouth quirked up in a crooked smile.

"Don't be ridiculous," I hissed back at him under my breath, pausing in the door frame.

"Is that so? Then why do you look so angry?" he teased.

"Even friends don't leave friends hanging," I told him and quickly walked away before he could do a more thorough examination. I couldn't be jealous, right? It wasn't even like I really liked that guy.

So what was this unpleasant feeling in the pit of my stomach?

I found a bathroom and helped myself to a washcloth, soaking it in cold water and ringing it out until it was just slightly damp.

With carefully controlled steps, I walked back to the room where I had found Shimabukuro.

He was standing in the middle of the room, trying to button up a loose shirt.

"Here," I said and threw the wet cloth at him. It hit the boy squarely in the face and slid downward.

"What was that for?" he demanded angrily.

"Your face," I told him, "You have a little something here." My finger tapped my cheekbone accordingly.

"Huh?" he said with confusion, scrubbing the spot.

Shimabukuro examined the pink smudge on the towel, "What's this?"

"It would appear to be some sort of feminine beautification product. Lipstick, if I'm not mistaken," the boss leaned casually on the doorframe.

Shimabukuro gaped and spluttered, eyes bugging out of his head as he looked down at the cloth. He scrubbed his face once again, more vigorously this time, covering the whole area.

After a minute, he stopped with a defeated slump of his shoulders, "I don't remember any of this..." he complained.

See? I knew drinking yourself silly was a bad idea. Stuff like this just reinforced my decision not to do something stupid like that ever again.

"Disappointed?" I mocked, crossing my arms grumpily.

"That - - that's not what I meant at all!" he protested.

"Whatever. Let's just go. You did have something to show me, right? Or did you call me all the way out here for nothing?" I turned and walked away without an answer, trusting him to follow.

.

.

.

"Should we tell her?" Larry asked, watching the boy scramble down the corridor after the girl's stiffly retreating form.

"What? That the woman left in a huff last night after he drunkenly confessed his love to... well..." the boss trailed off with a mischievous twinkle in his eye.

"Yeah. That," Larry responded flatly.

The boss clapped a hand on the old man's shoulder, "Do you really think that dumb boy has even realized it himself yet?" Despite the insult, his tone was filled with fondness for the young man.

Larry chuckled, "Well, I suppose you're right."

They stared down the vacant hallway after the pair.

.

.

.

"This way," Shimabukuro said, breaking the long silence that had persisted ever since leaving the boss' center of operation.

I followed as he turned down a fairly empty side street, but said nothing as I watched his back shifting in front of me.

_Get a hold of yourself, Friday. What you're feeling is completely irrational. You've only known the guy for what, a few days? It isn't like he even has any special feelings for you - - and the non-feeling is mutual. _

Sure, he _had_ shown a lot of concern over my injury, and he had seemed so nervous when he asked me to come with him today. Not to mention the fact that he was seriously handsome...

Stop. Bad Friday, bad. He's just a friend. And besides, he was off limits. Eventually, I'd be going home, right? And I was sure normal humans were a grey area for people like me... especially when the whole reason I was here was to "work" in the first place.

I sighed.

"Something the matter?" he asked, turning with a raised eyebrow as his feet stopped moving forward.

"Uh... no, not really," I lied.

"Hmm..." he peered down into my face, bending closer with a searching frown, "I wonder."

I laughed nervously. He obviously didn't believe me. I guess I never had been a very good liar to begin with.

"A-anyway," I stuttered nervously, "Where are we going?"

"Well, that's - - " he began, straightening with hands in his pockets.

"_Shi-ma-kun!" _an effeminate voice called out in a singsong way as he was ambushed from the side. The woman - - who looked to be a good ten years older than him and positively bursting (at the seams) with feminine charm - - latched onto his arm with both of hers. She rubbed her face up against his shoulder.

"My, my, Shima-kun. I never imagined I'd see you here!" she proclaimed with a wide smile.

I stared in shock. My mouth may have been hanging open in surprise, but I was too numb to tell.

Oddly, Shimabukuro seemed to have a matching look on his face.

Who _was_ that woman?

.

**AN: I'm sorry if any of you feel I have cheated you with the confession part... C'mon... he's too gruff-mannered to come right out and say it. Besides, that would be no fun ;]**

**For those of you who are wondering who Friday ends up with: I can't tell you yet, but as for Kurama... well, he obviously ends up... with ME! (Is shot) (Resurrected) Okay, so maybe not... but you'll just have to read to find out. Bwahahahaha! :D**

To my lovely anon reviewer who asked about Hana Yori Dango: I only watched the J-Drama, because the actors who play Uchi and Shin in Gokusen are a main focus. The story is about a (very) poor girl (Tsukushi) who attends a school filled with entirely million/billionaires. The school is run by a group of 4 boys who call themselves F4. If someone annoys them, they receive a "red notice" from F4 and then the whole school turns against them. Somehow, Tsukushi becomes the first girl to receive a red notice, but when she can't take it anymore, she punches their leader's lights out and oops… he falls for her. Especially in season 2, there's a lot of love triangle stuff going on, but if you're into that thing… For me, love triangles and romantic drama always stress me out, so I was kinda snippy for about a week before I finished the series. But once you start watching, you feel like you have to finish to get that redemptive ending. I would categorize it as a dramatic romance with some angst and some humor. Strange mix, I know.

I still have a deviantart account where I will be posting some pictures of characters, etc... to go with this story. Check it out if you want. I'm **theanonymouspen . deviantart . com** (no spaces)

**Posted a pic of Hati on my deviantart for AofR. Check it out, guys :) He appreciates the love. **

Thank you for reading :)

**Preview: Shimabukuro gets a push toward love? You know you want to read it...**

**Also, be sure to check in on Friday for another chapter. If I get enough reviews, I just may post an extra chappie that week ;]**

**Please REVIEW!**


	32. Jealousy

_**Italics are a brief recap.**_

**_Puppylove7_: Err... sorry about the confession. Oops -.-' And I totally have those moments too, so I don't mind if you don't have much to say. I'm glad you took the time to review anyway :]**

**_nevvy:_ Wheeee! New reader. *.* Welcome... (is too excited). (1) - I'm flattered. :} I hope I can continue to interest you in this fic for the foreseeable future. (2) - I usually wouldn't make my OC drunk for the same reasons, but I just had to get that scene with Rama in there as a brief moment to get him to think a bit about how he wasn't the only one affected by the craziness going on ;] So I'm glad it worked out. (3) - Sorry, but I'm kind of an Apples to Apples boss. I won the first time I played and I've won almost every time since. (4) - We're moving back into action after this chappie, but the mush/romance will resurface periodically. Don't you worry. **

**_bbst:_ There are quite a few fights of various varieties going down. **

**_Angel of Randomosity: _ ^_^ Did you like Hati? He's a handsome fella, isn't he? Your excitement is contagious. **

**_Guest1:_ Well, at least Kurama did help her when she tripped. Shrug. Points for him over Domyoji. I, for one, will always support Friday striding confidently like a man. Just don't tell Friday she's jealous ;] And I would most definitely date Shun Oguri (Rui) in a heartbeat. Haha. I wish Makino would end up with Rui, but in a way, it's better if she's with Tsukasa since it would be a real let-down after all they went through if they were apart :/ Let me know when you get to the scene I quoted. I want to know if I'm just a strange sap for liking that part best. Ehehe. **

**_Guest2:_ I have an idea. Let's make a Friday support team and force whichever guy she chooses to choose her... Okay, maybe not. Team Friday, go!**

_**. . .**_

"_**T**he unbearable pain that she was suffering was nothing more nor less than jealousy, accompanied by all its attendant horrors**." ― Madame de Lafayette**_

_**. . .**_

"_Shi-ma-kun!" an effeminate voice called out in a singsong way as he was ambushed from the side. The woman - - who looked to be a good ten years older than him and positively bursting (at the seams) with feminine charm - - latched onto his arm with both of hers. She rubbed her face up against his shoulder. _

"_My, my, Shima-kun. I never imagined I'd see you here!" she proclaimed with a wide smile. _

_I stared in shock. My mouth may have been hanging open in surprise, but I was too numb to tell. _

_Oddly, Shimabukuro seemed to have a matching look on his face. _

Who _was_ that woman?

"W-who are you?" he spluttered, leaning away. Apparently, he had the same question.

"How rude!" the woman scolded, "I'm your girlfriend, remember?" She smiled winningly up at him.

"Don't be absurd!" he shouted down at the still-clinging female, "I've never seen you before in my life!"

"Ah! That hurts, Shima-kun! Don't you remember asking me out last night?" she looked up at him with a pout, refusing to let go.

"Hah?" he said with a dumbfounded expression. Apparently, he really didn't remember that he had somehow attained a girlfriend...

Stupid boy. He should know better than to drink irresponsibly.

"Hmph!" I exclaimed and turned away, crossing my arms over my chest, as if they could stop my heart from exploding out of me.

"Well, then. Since you're my boyfriend, you should take me somewhere nice, right?" her cheerfully oblivious voice floated behind me.

"Get off!" he protested.

If I stayed and watched this, I was sure I'd lose it and end up punching at least one of them in the face. So I did the only thing someone in my position could and started to leave, going back the way we'd come.

"Hey, wait!" I heard Shimabukuro call after me with a yelp.

"Ah? Who is that girl, Shima-kun? Don't tell me..." she gasped, "Are you two-timing on me? How terrible! How cruel, Shima-kun."

I stiffened. People could call me a lot of things, but I certainly wasn't a cheat. I refused to be treated as someone on the side.

Even if by some chance it was accidental - - another unwanted side effect of partying with the yakuza - - the boy still had to take responsibility for his actions. The sooner he learned that, the better.

"Ah. No, it's not really like that," he protested.

I kept walking, heart throbbing to the beat of my footsteps on the pavement.

"Wait! Friday! WAIT!" he made a last-ditch effort to catch my attention. I just set my jaw and ignored him, turning the corner and leaving the new couple behind.

.

.

.

"You... what are you still doing here?" Shimabukuro asked, head in hands, sitting dejectedly on the bench he shared with the woman who was supposedly his girlfriend.

"How mean, Shima-kun!" the woman whined, "I'm your girlfriend, after all."

"I told you... I don't want you! Now get lost!" he yelled across at her, hands balling into fists.

With angry eyes, he stared harshly into her own as they filled with tears. Her lip quivered and the teardrops spilled over long lashes and rolled down powdered cheeks.

His eyes widened. "Hey now... What are you doing?" he asked nervously, hands uncurling, "Stop that. Please, just... stop."

She sniffled, "You're so cruel! Maybe I should just leave, even if you are my boyfriend." Another bout of harsh sobs followed.

"Uh... There now," he awkwardly tried to pat her shoulder, "I guess you don't really have to leave... if you want to stay that much."

The tears slowly died down.

Shimabukuro sighed and hung his head, digging fingers into his red-orange mane in exasperation. How had this happened?

Friday... What was that girl doing now? She had seemed strangely angry...

"You... are you still thinking about that girl?" the woman whispered, hurt eyes going wide in horror.

"Ah... well, that's..." he said guiltily, unable to think of a good way to answer. Of course he was thinking about that girl.

Shimabukuro slumped back against the wall, closing his eyes as he turned his face to the sky.

The minutes ticked by in silence. Something slipped around his neck and his eyes shot open.

The woman was far too close, arm wrapped around him, pressing herself up to his side as she leaned in with puckered lips.

"Hey... what are you doing?" he asked in alarm.

"I should be a good girlfriend, right? Then maybe you'll forget about that other girl," she replied in a smooth voice.

He leaned away, but she still pressed forward. His eyes crossed as he tried to keep a close watch on her face, but that was difficult with it getting so close... It was becoming harder to breathe.

He jolted up off the bench, half-knocking the woman over as he stood. Panting from the narrow escape, his hands clenched into fists at his sides as he stared down at her.

He caught his breath and slowed his stuttering heart. "Sorry," he finally told the woman, straightening up and putting his back to her, "But I would rather be kicked by her than kissed by you." And with that, Shimabukuro started to run, following the path the girl had taken. Maybe it wasn't too late still to find her...

The woman's painted lips curved up in a smile.

"That's how it's done!" a congratulatory voice boomed behind him; Shimabukuro skidded to a stop in his tracks.

"EH!?" the boy spun around with wide eyes, "_Boss?_ What's the meaning of this?" His words grew angrier as his brow furrowed, seeing the familiar man standing beside the woman he had just abandoned so harshly.

"Finally, you've made a decision as a man. Took you long enough," the boss laughed loudly, hands on hips, "Though for a minute there, I thought those crocodile tears would undo you."

"What's... going on..." Shimabukuro asked blankly, looking back and forth from the smiling woman to his chuckling boss.

"There now, you should be thanking me. Without a little push in the right direction, you'd never have figured it out for yourself, boy," the boss told him confidently.

"A... push?" the boy inquired, confused.

"Well, strictly speaking, she's not really your girlfriend," the boss indicated the woman, who waved her fingers at Shimabukuro.

"She's not?" he blinked.

"That's correct!" the boss beamed, coming toward him, "I just asked her to give you a little shove forward."

"In other words... this whole thing..." his eyes disappeared in shadow as he lowered his head, "Was nothing more than a setup?"

"Bzzt, bzzt. We have a winner!" the woman exclaimed, holding up a finger.

Shimabukuro snapped.

"YOU'VE GOT TO BE JOKING!" he flew into a rage, lashing out with a fist and striking his boss squarely on the jaw. "THAT'S TOO FAR!" the boy yelled.

The boss sighed, rubbing his face. "Very well... But if you get it now, why don't you hurry and go after your lady friend?" he suggested.

Shimabukuro quieted down, standing for a moment facing his boss before turning slowly away.

"Oh, and one thing, Shimabukuro," the boss stopped him.

The boy turned to look at his superior.

"I'll let that slide just this once, but understand that you are not to raise a hand to me again. Ever," the boss' look filled with the power of superiority.

Shimabukuro ducked his head in a bow: "Boss," he acknowledged, respectfully.

"Well, what are you still standing there for. Get going!" the boss shouted over at him.

The boy straightened with an acknowledging grunt and let his quick feet carry him through the streets.

"Friday!" he shouted searchingly, "FRIDAY!" Where had that girl gotten to?

.

.

.

_Well, that was short lived,_ I thought to myself as I leaned back against a concrete wall and looked up at the sky as clouds drifted slowly by.

Boys... _really_. And this kind of thing... well, it was just my luck. Why, oh why, could I never find someone who was interested in me? No, they all just _had_ to be unavailable. Um... not that I was looking.

Riiiiight...

I sighed, blowing purple bangs out of my eyes. As the hot air left my lungs, I seemed to deflate, feeling my spine compact in a dejected slouch.

Always the same story. I should've known from the beginning. This was just another one of those things that would never be worth the time or energy I put into it.

And I refused to be labelled a home-wrecker, besides.

"_Friday!" _

Great. Now I was hearing things, too. See? That just goes to prove that boys are more trouble than they're worth.

"DAMMIT! ANSWER ME!" a hand grabbed hold of my shoulder and ripped me around. With shocked eyes, I stared up into Shimabukuro's angry face. He stood over me, slightly bent over, panting from exertion.

"You... why are you here?" I asked incredulously.

"I'm here to see you, of course!" he shouted down at me.

"Why bother with me?" I responded in an accusatory tone, averting my eyes, "You already _have_ a girlfriend. You don't need another girl in your life."

"Don't be ridiculous," he hissed, "Besides, that... that was just a misunderstanding."

"Misunderstanding?" I stated with disbelief, still avoiding his eyes as he tried to catch mine.

"That's right," he shrugged, straightening, "She wasn't my girlfriend. Actually, I don't have a girlfriend." Shimabukuro stuck his hands in his pockets and looked away.

"Oh," I said. He sounded sincere enough. And I remembered the dumbstruck look on his face when the woman had first appeared. I supposed I would have to believe him.

He leaned forward, "Why? Jealous?" he teased.

"As if!" I retorted, turning my head away from his, and crossing my arms defensively in front of me.

"Oi," he tried to catch my attention.

I looked the other way.

"Hey, look at me," Shimabukuro insisted.

Again, I turned my head.

"You believe me, don't you?" he tried grabbing the top of my head to force me to meet his gaze. I wriggled out of his grip.

"Is something wrong? You're pretty silent all of a sudden," he observed, "Hey, stop trying to look away... I'm trying to talk to you... Look here, dammit...

"I SAID 'LOOK!'" he shouted. A fist made contact with my cheekbone, and my head snapped to the side.

I gaped, dumbfounded. That guy... He had actually... _What_?

That jerk must die!

With a growling roar, I turned on him, "WHY YOU..." I punched him squarely back in the face and while he was still immobilized used my angry momentum to overturn him completely. He flipped over onto his back on the concrete with a hard smacking sound, breath whooshing out of his lungs.

I started in with another attack.

"Ouch..." he said coughing, and started to laugh, shakily. The boy struggled to push himself up to sitting.

I froze in my tracks, stopping to stare down at the chuckling boy in surprise.

"So you _are_ alright, after all," he continued to laugh breathlessly, a genuine smile spreading across his face, "I'm glad.

"Though you know, you could have gone a little easier on me. You have quite a punch, for a girl," he cocked his head to look up at me, laughter dying away though the smile remained.

My stomach flip flopped. What was going on? I felt like I had missed something important.

And that boy... he was actually... smiling?

He stood, brushing himself off, and started to walk away. I stared after his back, puzzled.

"Well, aren't you coming? I still have something to show you, after all," he looked back over his shoulder, a twinkle in his eye.

"A-ah," I consented, jogging to catch up.

.

.

.

"What's this?" I asked, staring up at the large storefront.

"An international market," the boy replied.

"Eh? Really?" I asked, a grin slowly spreading across my face. It was surprisingly hard to find one of those when I couldn't read enough Japanese to even understand a directory, much less a full-scale map. So even though I'd been looking for a while, I'd had no such luck... until now.

"Ah," a thought struck me, "But... why did you bring me here?"

"Don't you like it?" he questioned gruffly.

"Well, of course..." I trailed off. Actually, I was overjoyed, but it was kind of a strange destination, after all the commotion of getting here.

"I thought foreigners usually got most homesick over the food," he mused.

"That's probably pretty close to the truth," I agreed, nodding my head.

"And besides..." he began. I looked up at him expectantly, and he continued, "You're a pretty lousy cook when it comes to Japanese food. You might be better off sticking with your native foods if you're going for something that's actually edible."

"Why you..." my temple throbbed. That jerk!

"Eh? What are you doing still standing out there? I'm going to leave you behind if you don't hurry it up," he disappeared through the doorway.

I fumbled with my bag as I squeezed through the door behind him.

The tape clunked against my communicator and I looked down through the fabric.

Reaching a hand in, my fingers closed around the cylinder. I should give it back to him now, since he had forgotten it last time he came...

His red-orange head disappeared down an aisle.

Slowly, my fingers let go of the roll of tape and it dropped back to the bottom of the bag. Well, I supposed it would be okay if I kept it a little longer...

A growing smile turned the corners of my mouth up as I let my feet follow after the boy.

.

.

.

I smiled to myself, digging out ingredients for the spaghetti sauce I planned to use in today's lunch. Finally! Not that I didn't love Japanese food, but it just wasn't the same when I tried - - and failed - - to cook it.

"You look happy today," Yukina observed, coming into the kitchen, "Did something happen?"

I turned to look at her and laughed briefly, "No, not really." But the smile didn't leave my face.

"What's this?" she asked, coming over to the counter.

"Spaghetti," I told her, "Technically Italian food, but as far as us Americans are concerned, it might as well be ours. We only have basically hamburgers and hotdogs to claim as original foods, so we steal from other countries as the need arises." I winked at her.

"Oh, really?" she asked, "Well, I'm looking forward to trying it." She bowed to show her appreciation.

I laughed, "Don't worry. I can cook this kind of stuff way better." I began preparing the sauce.

A knock sounded at the door, pulling my attention away from the saucepan on the stove. My eyes flicked to the roll of tape that I had replaced on the windowsill. It couldn't be? Could it?

Bounding over to the door, I slid it quickly open.

My smile dropped, seeing that it was Hati and the gang.

"Oh, it's just you," I said and sighed.

"Expecting someone else?" the wolf asked wryly, eyebrow quirking in annoyance.

"Not particularly," I turned and made my way back to the kitchen, stretching my arms over my head as my back popped comfortably.

Someone's stomach rumbled.

"I guess this means I have to cook for you guys too, huh? Why didn't anyone mention we were having a meeting?" I grumbled.

"Uh... that's okay," Yusuke said quickly, "You don't have to feed us. Actually, I would rather you didn't."

I shot him a glare over my shoulder: "Hey. For your information, I actually do know how to cook food from my own country, thanks."

"I don't trust it..." Yusuke replied.

"Just eat it!" I snapped back.

"Um..." Kurama interrupted, "Isn't Spaghetti an Italian dish?" He prodded at the sauce with a wooden spoon I'd left on the counter.

"Give me that!" I yanked the spoon out of his hands and ignored the question.

"Actually," he placed a hand thoughtfully on his chin, "That was probably a good idea to find foods you have in America. Though who would have thought you could actually cook those..."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I glared angrily up at him.

"Uh... No, nothing," he waved his hands in the air in front of him, as if he could erase his words.

"Whatever," I grumbled and kept stirring.

.

.

.

Glancing around the table, I noticed there wasn't a single plate that hadn't been wiped clean. I, too, had been pleasantly surprised by this turn of events. But who would have thought the girl could cook anything after the misadventure with the burnt rice?

Hati had started the meeting as soon as he finished wolfing down - - if you'll pardon the expression - - his portion. Now that the rest of us had empty dishes, we simply sat and listened. Though perhaps the "we" here was inappropriate.

It seemed from what I could observe that Yusuke and Kuwabara had discovered how to play games on their communicators and were currently doing just that from a discrete position under the table. Genkai and Yukina sat with us as well; the old master was by now quite absorbed with her tea, while the ice maiden gazed out the window at the birds that swooped by the sill. While Yukina bird-watched, her sibling watched her.

I restrained a sigh. For someone so adamant about not being discovered, Hiei stared too openly. I wondered now and again if Yukina hadn't noticed the obvious attention by now. But if she had, then the secretive quality her brother possessed must run in the family.

" - - If you'll notice, all the Nightmares we've found in the past four days have been centered around these three locations. But looking at the past six days, the locations are - - " Hati's voice cut into my musings, and I realized with a start that even I had let my thoughts drift away from the topic at hand. Chuckling in my mind, I offhandedly placed the deficit of attention as a common consequence of a full stomach, and tried my best to focus.

" - - effects on the local wildlife. These are just some of the signs left behind that indicate a Nightmare's passage. If you spot any of these, you shouldn't hesitate to expand your awareness. We can't afford to have any one of you caught off guard when there are obvious indicators you should be looking for - - "

Cold air brushed up against my skin. Discretely, my eyes located the source: a patched window above the kitchen sink. Pieces of paper held together by masking tape made a temporary replacement for the glass that had previously sat in that space.

A quiet, repetitive noise caught my ears. I angled my head slightly to get a better look at the girl. She twisted a half-used roll of tape around on the table, long fingers fiddling with it absentmindedly. The tape used to patch the window? It was the same variety, I observed.

" - - over on the west side of the city. On the east side - - Ahem. A little quieter, Friday, if you don't mind - - Where was I? Ah yes, the east side - - " It seemed Hati had heard the rolling tape as well. Though I don't think he realized just how far away the girl's attention was wandering. She hadn't even noticed he had directed a comment at her, and her eyes were still glazed over blissfully.

" - - we may be approaching a stage where we will start to see attacks on bystanders. That is why we must move quickly to stop..." Hati trailed off, peering sharply down the end of the table to where Friday was still playing with the tape. A smile had grown on her face, turning the corners of her mouth up in a strange way. The expression wasn't quite like any of the smiles I'd seen her wear before. I puzzled over it a bit.

With Hati's silence, the others looked up curiously, likely wondering if the meeting had ended.

"This is a very serious matter, Friday," the wolf informed the girl who was completely oblivious to any and all activities surrounding her, "It's hardly something to be smiling about."

She lifted the roll of tape on a finger to stare at it eye-level. Slowly, a low, amused chuckle emanated from her throat.

"_Really,_" the wolf huffed indignantly, sitting up taller to place both paws on the tabletop, "FRIDAY!" he half-barked at her, leaning forward.

She jolted back with a yelp, the roll of tape dropping from her hand onto the table, where it bounced a bit before settling.

"What the heck? You scared me half to death, Hati," the girl said with a hand on her heart.

"Have you been listening to a word I've said? I realize this information isn't the most _entertaining_," Hati said accusatorially, "However, being well-educated may be a matter of life or death. Please try a little harder!"

"Sorry..." she said sheepishly, "I really did start out with the best intentions..."

"As head Sleeper, you can't afford to be daydreaming!" Hati scolded.

"Relax. She's probably just thinking about some cute guy she met, right, Friday?" Yusuke teased, leaning over to drape an arm over her shoulders in a conspiratorial way.

"Eh?" she exclaimed, eyes going wide as she leaned away, muttering, "Since when did you become so perceptive?"

"What?" Yusuke shouted, shocked, "It really is a guy?" His jaw dropped.

"Uh... well, that's..." she scratched the side of her nose and looked away, avoiding eye contact.

Yusuke laughed and continued to tease, "It's all those sappy romance flicks you watch - - "

"I do not!" she protested.

"They really are turning you into a girly girl, after all," he chuckled, ribbing her in the elbows.

"Get off before I punch you in the face," she hissed through clenched teeth.

"Aww... C'mon. It's just a joke," Yusuke protested, grinning. He took a breath to start in again.

Yukina stood abruptly. Seven pairs of surprised eyes turned to stare at her curiously. This was certainly strange behavior for the mild-mannered ice maiden.

"Does anyone need more tea?" she inquired politely, effectively breaking up the confrontation.

It was a very obvious attempt at changing conversation, but things did settle down. Those of us with empty cups indicated that we would take her up on her offer.

Friday smiled as Yukina walked away. "That girl..." she muttered, shaking her head and chuckling at some private joke.

So Yukina was in on this as well? There may really be a boy, after all...

"Can we all refocus on the meeting?" Hati asked testily.

"Of course," the girl straightened up, "Sorry for interrupting. I'll pay attention now."

Easier said than done. With an internal sigh, I tried in earnest to listen as the meeting resumed.

.

.

.

"Are you sure this is the place?" Botan asked doubtingly, holding the energy-seeking device out before her. Beep... Beep... Beep... Seriously, could that thing be any more annoying? Even when it didn't sense anything it made noise.

"Taking into account the energy readings of the past few days would place today's portal location somewhere around here. We should all keep searching," Hati responded.

I cast my eyes about in a bored sort of way. Everything seemed to be normal here. The grey concrete of the underground parking garage stretched away from me in all directions, lit overhead every now and then with bright strips of light. The lot was fairly full of cars, though there were no pedestrians out at this late hour that I'd seen.

Yep. Everything seemed pretty normal. We'd been scanning the immediate neighborhood for hours already, and I was starting to come to the conclusion that the reason things all seemed normal... was because they were.

"Um... Hati," I interrupted his purposeful sniffing about, "What do we do if there isn't actually a Nightmare portal around here? Doesn't that mean we've left some other part of the city unprotected?"

The others stopped, as well, waiting expectantly for Hati's answer, no doubt hoping we could call it a night.

The wolf blinked slowly up at me. "There _is _a portal here. There must be," he remained firm in his conviction as he put his nose to the ground once more, trying to catch the scent of a Nightmare.

I just sighed, crossing my arms behind my head as my eyes scanned the building once more.

Still the same. Just some parked cars, the boys, and a determined wolf.

Noticing something, my brow furrowed: "Hey, does anyone see Botan?"

"Jeez... did she wander off by herself again?" Yusuke grumbled, "Like we have time to go looking for her. This is the fifth time tonight!"

I sighed, "Nevermind that, Yusuke. I'll go find her. You can keep looking for a portal..." I grinned impishly at him as I passed the boy by, whacking him in a friendly way on the shoulder.

"Hey! No fair, Friday. Like we're ever going to find anything here..." Yusuke directed his complaints at my back.

.

.

.

BEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEP! - - _CRUNCH_.

A bare heel came down heavily on the device, which whined a moment before giving up and going silent.

"Well, well, well... what do we have here?"

.

**AN: Le gasp! Whatever will happen next? :O**

**Oh, Shimabu-kun. You lose your temper too easily, but thankfully Friday is there to put you in your place... Maybe it was unclear, so I'll just explain Shima's thought process in punching Friday here. Partly, it was just his temper. But he also wanted to make sure she was okay and he's fought her before, so he knows she can take a hit (he wouldn't normally punch a girl in the face). He also wanted her to be her usual gruff self like at the New Year's festival when she started whacking him with the fan she had. It lets him know she's alright. So, better if she's mad at him than if she's moping. Blah... complicated. Sorry. :/**

**Side note: the quote is from an interesting book called Princess of Cleves, set in an old French court. It's a story about virtue and longing, if anyone feels they have an abundance of time on their hands. **

I still have a deviantart account where I will be posting some pictures of characters, etc... to go with this story. Check it out if you want. I'm **theanonymouspen . deviantart . com** (no spaces)

**Update:** Posted a random picture of the YYH women as Disney princesses if anyone wants to take a look.

Thank you for reading :)

**Preview: Botan is in trouble. Will Friday make it in time to save her?**

**If I get enough reviews, I may post another chapter tomorrow, and spare you from living in suspense...**

**Please REVIEW!**


	33. Icarus

**You guys, what happened? Back to school? Well, I hope you're all still reading this nevertheless and just didn't leave a review. (But I would appreciate it if you would take two seconds/minutes to do that this time :] ) I am also heading back to school, and it would definitely help keep me writing this story and posting frequently if I keep getting everyone's wonderful feedback. Again, I really do appreciate it. **

**_ATTENTION:_ I tried something new this chapter with brief flashbacks interspersed throughout. They are in italics. I hope it isn't too confusing. General rule: the flashback is of the person the POV is focusing on. ie: Botan, then Friday's interactions with the POV character. I just thought it might help explain the POV's mental state better. Hopefully? Please let me know if you like them or dislike them, so I can see if it's a successful approach for the future.**

**_Guest:_ Ehehe. Oops. Sorry you didn't get the extra chapter, my speedy reviewer. Tell you what, if you give me a character or scene from DTMB that you want me to draw, I will do that especially for you. How's that?**

**_Puppylove7:_ I'm glad you thought Shima x Friday was funny :3 I do love them together. And since you also reviewed on Friday, you may also request a character/scene (see above response).**

**_Angel of Randomosity:_ I'm guessing Hati is your favorite DTMB character, but maybe Shima is moving up on that list? ;] And I totally read that last line in Hiei's voice: "Botan, you fool..." Except he would probably just call her "onna" :/ Blah... By the way, I think you'll like a certain section of this chapter, since it's narrated by Hati ;] **

**_Ninjawolf1313:_ Actually, that pretty much sums it up. And yes, I did feel like it was okay to let Shima punch her since, let's be honest, she probably just enjoys having an excuse to wallop him back. (Also, his punches don't really hurt her.)**

**The one thing I really feel stories are missing is a background playlist. Le sigh. But every now and then I just might suggest one. Grooveshark it or something if you want. While writing this, I listened to the beautiful piano music of Yiruma. His song, "Moonlight" especially feels like it fits with Hati's scene, in case you were wondering what kind of mood went there. It's not a Tchaikovsky march. :P**

_**. . .**_

"_**Y**ou tread water, fighting for the air in your lungs. Move, move closer. Maybe you can right all your wrongs. But you let go, 'cause your hope is gone and every answer fades away... _

"**I**t's a shame you don't know what you're running from. Would your bones have to break and your lights turn off? Would it take the end of time to hear your heart's false start?

"_**S**__o stop the engine, stop pretending that you're still breathing__**.**_**" **

― **Ellie Goulding**

_**. . .**_

I wandered down the rows of still cars, looking for any sign of Botan. Where had that girl gone off to now?

A flash of cerulean a few rows over caught my eye. Oh, good. Found her.

Squeezing between two parked vehicles, I started toward her. The ferry girl hadn't seen me yet. I considered waving, but she seemed so fixated on whatever was in front of her that I doubted she would notice.

Taking a breath to call out to her, the deep, smooth voice of another spoke. I inhaled sharply, swallowing my words.

"If it isn't the little blue-haired girl that's always hanging around. This must be my lucky day..."

No way...

My eyes widened to untold proportions as a figure I knew all too well floated into view. Back stiffening, I watched in stunned immobility from my place between the cars.

Botan took a small step back, but her feet seemed to root themselves to the concrete, and though her legs trembled, she couldn't move. Catching sight of her face for the first time, I noticed the look of open dismay fixated there.

He hovered, circling her, so close that a segment of his dusky blue hair brushed over her shoulder and she shuddered. "Did you know?" he said, "Meddlers often find themselves in over their heads. It's time you learned your lesson... or perhaps..." he paused, seeming to rethink his initial plan, "You might be better off as bait."

Coming full circle to face her, the man took hold of her wrist with a white-gloved hand in an attempt to fulfill his latest promise.

. . . _"O-oh! You can see them?" the blue haired girl said, jumping up and putting a hand behind her head in a nervous gesture . . ._

Something bubbled up inside of me, and I felt my skin going hot, like a pot whose insides churned tempestuously with boiling water. The volatile energy poured off of me like spasmodic bursts of steam, releasing before I could blow my top completely.

_. . . "Well, I'll be off now. Thanks for the help. I was in a real pinch there!" . . ._

Somehow, this energy formed itself into coherent words as they tore from my throat violently, "Rikyu!" I bellowed, "You get your hands off of her!"

He jolted in surprise, turning his head to look at me with wide eyes.

Bursting forward as if a starting-gate had just opened before me, I pounded towards him. "She isn't even a fighter! Let. Her. Go!" I demanded, eyes seething.

_. . . "You did this… for me?" . . ._

"If she isn't a fighter," he retorted, finally seeming to find his voice again, "Then she should keep her nose out of our business." He didn't realize how close he was to the sun.

. _. . "Friday... I'm sorry, but it doesn't look like you're going home any time soon. It may be time to get some necessities. I can get you some clothes, if you'd like." . . ._

An incoherent shout that was half-snarl ripped from my lungs.

Devising a new strategy, he tugged the bluenette around in front of him. She cried out as he twisted her arms behind her, planning to use her as a shield.

_. . . "Fridaaaaaay!" the bluenette called in a singsong voice as she burst in through the sliding doors . . ._

"Nuh-uh-uh," he scolded, directed at me, "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

But I found that my feet couldn't stop. Botan screamed.

_. . . "Well..." Botan said nervously, putting her best cat-face on, "Any special people in your life?" . . ._

A white-hot light flashed across my eyes, blinding me. All I could feel was rage, searing through my veins, crackling on the surface of my skin.

_. . . "We can find a way to celebrate Christmas with you!" She smiled, very pleased with her idea . . ._

This guy...

Was unforgivable!

A deep and terrible roar sounded in my ears, crushing my eardrums. Maybe it was my own.

_. . . "Hey, hey! Who was that? You know... That lion-haired boy," Botan made a cat-face . . ._

My heart throbbed with a beat so strong it threatened to squeeze the life from me. I charged forward, unseeingly, following the tug of instinct as it pulled me towards him, unfaltering.

_. . . "But you haven't even seen it yet! And after we took so long to fix your hair too," her voice berated me . . ._

The roar continued, footsteps pounded, the light seared, and a feeling like a jolt of electricity arced across my skin. The loud roar crescendoed into a piercing scream, careening high above the throbbing beat of my heart. My hair stood on end and I seethed, feeling like I was being burned alive under the intensity of my own light.

Something was wrong.

My world went black.

.

.

.

"Why the hell are those girls taking so long? They probably gave up on this stupid search to go shopping or something," Yusuke crossed his arms, annoyed.

Hati stiffened at the insult to his operation.

"Now, now, Yusuke," Kurama reasoned with the boy, "There's no need to get so uptight. I'm certain they'll head right back once they find - - "

A roar split the air.

Hati's head jerked up and he took off running, recognizing his Sleeper's voice. Whether the others followed or not... it didn't much matter to him.

.

.

.

The light exploded into existence around us so brightly that we had to shut our eyes to keep from being blinded by it. It washed over us in waves, pulsating, radiating out from its source...

Friday.

Rikyu threw up an arm to shield his eyes, and the captive Botan wrenched herself free from his grip, stumbling forward as she broke away.

Another bright burst expanded from the Sleeper's slim form as she ran toward the commander. He vanished, escaping into a dark dimension before its full impact could reach him.

Her feet continued moving toward the swiftly closing portal. The light twisted, warped, and began to arc across her body, jolts of white-hot lightning jumping over her skin. Blocks of concrete freed themselves from under her pounding steps as she ran; the distorted light eating away at those, too, until they fell to the side, charred and smoking.

Botan scrambled to our side as Yusuke called out to her.

The unhealthy light grew, its quivering lines snapping to and fro faster, surrounding her. Rikyu's dark portal sealed itself.

The girl's feet fumbled and she was stuck, frozen in place as the lightning danced over her skin. Her back arced and muscles tensed.

I squinted past the growing brilliance; the girl's eyes were open, though it appeared she could not see. The scream that tore through her throat did not sound like anything that should belong to a mortal.

But what could we do? The light was so strong, it looked as though it would incinerate anything that dared to come within its deadly range.

And still the light grew, forcing its tendrils out to contact with the space that surrounded it. The lightning bolts burst out into the concrete pillars that provided support for the huge, underground complex, removing large chunks from them. Cracks marbled the structure.

Slowly, the ceiling began to give way. It crashed down around our heads. I threw up my arms to shield my skull and dodged as a large hole opened up above me, sending a car through from the level above.

All around the girl, the building came crashing down. Her strange, arcing light obliterated everything that touched it, protecting her from the avalanche.

"We have to get out of here!" Kuwabara shouted, and took a few steps forward in an effort to retrieve the girl.

I put a hand on the crook of his elbow. "No, Kuwabara! You can't go in there now. It will accomplish nothing! If you so much as try to touch her now..."

A block of concrete separated from the ceiling, coming down on top of her. Her lightning snapped through it, shattering the slab into thousands of tiny pieces on contact until only dust remained.

"The fox is right," Hiei told Kuwabara, "Go. We'll take care of this." We shared a look.

"You heard the man. Let's go, Botan," Yusuke commanded, turning to leave.

"No! I can't just leave her!" the ferry girl protested, "Can't you see there's something wrong?"

"Like it or not, you can't do anything help her now. Follow me!" Yusuke grabbed hold of her arm.

"I'm not going!" Botan protested, tears welling up in the corners of her eyes.

Kuwabara scooped her up from behind. "I'm sorry, Botan. But she wouldn't like it if you were hurt, either," he told the hysterical girl. I was surprised by his calm reasoning in the face of this event.

Botan struck out with her fists, kicking and trying to wriggle out of his grip, "Put me _down_, Kuwabara!"

"No can do. And I hate to tell you this, but your punches are nothing compared to Yusuke's. You've gotta come with us," Kuwabara said calmly, following Yusuke as they ran up the levels to the exit.

I noticed Hati wasn't following them.

Frowning, I looked down to tell him to leave. The wolf was frozen, horrified eyes glazed over as he stared blankly at the girl.

"Hati," I tried to catch his attention. A block crashed down beside me, and I barely jumped out of its way in time. "Hati!" I shouted, more urgently.

"He can't hear you," Hiei's voice spoke from my side, and I looked down at the fire apparition.

He looked back up at the girl, and I knew we shared the same thought.

But even though we'd sent the others away, how were we supposed to get her to safety when she was the most dangerous thing in the room?

.

.

.

Friday...

I remember the first moment I laid eyes on her. At that time, the girl's back was toward me, her own body shielding me from attack.

Friday...

Her body arced, racing with the bright light that moved spasmodically over her skin. I could do nothing but watch, with haunted, silver eyes.

Friday...

When she had first found out about her role in this world, she had been reluctant, disbelieving, even.

"_Why would I be chosen? I'm not a leader. I'm not a fighter. I'm... Friday... Just Friday..."_

But with a little prompting, she had gotten over that hurdle displaying the same resilience with which she tackled everything else.

"_Everyone I could... I wanted to protect them."_

And finally, after years of searching... of watching hope fade and the battle looming, like storm clouds closing in all around... a ray of light pierced the darkness. And suddenly I was not alone.

"_Let's win this, Hati."_

The power of her will, so strong, so _bright_, like a little sun that radiated out from her core. I could sit in that glow all day, just to feel its warmth...

Friday...

The light engulfed her, blindingly, and the piercing sound of her cry tore through my mind, searing all other thoughts away. Just like that time...

That glow... it was distorted... wrong, somehow. Unlike anything I had seen. And at the time I hadn't been able to help her beyond running a few tests back at Reikai... nothing was conclusive. I had no answers to give the girl.

Had I missed something? Was it something that would have helped her now? Spared her of this pain...?

Pain. I'd caused her a lot of it. All those times I'd lost my temper needlessly, _carelessly_...

"_It is a shame there is no other to hold the position of head Sleeper."_

Those words... had they really come from my mouth? Why? What was the point of them?

"_I shouldn't have to fight, if you were anything like the Sleepers used to be!"_

Those memories... I felt a deep shame even in remembering them.

But then...

She appeared by my side out of the darkness at a time when I was most in need, and we fought side by side...

"_You... came,_" I had said then, overcome by an incomprehensible feeling of warmth.

"_Always_," she had replied.

Friday...

Her purple hair stood on end. I watched the world before me through a silent mask, barely noticing the walls as they came down around me.

She always tried so hard to put up a tough front, that I often forgot just how young and tender she was underneath it all. But sometimes, she dropped her guard just long enough for me to catch a glimpse of it again...

"_You are... a good head Sleeper,"_ I had told her once, and she had simply grinned. But her blush betrayed her, and I was reminded then.

Those moments that bound us... I hadn't meant to form such a connection.

"_You're the only Sleeper we've got. I have to make sure you arrive home safely," _I had explained.

"_Awwww... Deep down, you're just a big softie, aren't you?" _she had teased.

And when she had gotten sick from her ridiculous antics, frolicking about in the snow...

"_Two nights in a row..." _I had admonished, shaking my head at the sniffling girl, _"Even a Sleeper body can become ill. You must take better care of yourself."_

When had I gotten so close to the girl? Hadn't I told myself never again? That it was unwise to develop such bonds with a Sleeper?

Friday...

The light consumed all. It was so unlike her normal glow... destructive, harsh, intimidating.

And it was going to destroy her.

No.

Never again. I will not lose another!

Without hesitation, I bolted forward. I closed the distance between us, paws striking the torn pavement, hurdling piles of rubble that separated me from the girl.

"_Did you know? Every being has a spark within them, though only some have the ability to see... But if the sparks inside others are like the stars that shine so far away, then the light inside of you burns as brightly as the sun."_

Lunging forward, I leapt into the center of her miniature sun, white-hot bolts of lightning twisting through it tempestuously, resisting my approach.

My teeth sank into cloth-covered flesh as I tried to hold us together despite the brilliant storm that raged around us.

I could smell my fur blackening, as the light that arced around the girl moved angrily to encompass myself as well.

The light was too bright; my lids squeezed shut, shielding my eyes from the glow, the spark that had spiraled out of control.

"_Sometimes, it's almost unbearable to look at, but nevertheless, it is beautiful."_

Why wasn't the girl responding? Why was she still frozen in this state?

There was a ripping sound, and the fabric gave.

My Sleeper and I were torn apart as my body was rejected from the sphere of light.

I tumbled, crashing down into the wreckage that stretched away from the twisting light at the center. Blearily, I rose again, determined to stop this somehow.

With fumbling steps, I closed in again. My charred fur smoked, standing awkwardly on end.

The light that flickered around the girl began to dim.

My steps faltered, and I stared, panting heavily through the cloud of ash and dust.

Her light gave way, guttering out completely. The girl collapsed.

But the ceiling didn't cease its destructive course. Blocks continued to fall, on a path to crush my precious charge.

I started forward, but needn't have worried.

A black blur flashed, moving too quickly for even my sharp eyes to fully comprehend. With quick, even strokes, Hiei sliced the large blocks as they broke free until only small pieces no larger than my paw remained to fall on the girl below.

She would not be crushed, though they may leave some nasty bruises. I loped over to her. With cracked and burned paws, I attempted to dig my Sleeper out of the rubble. Finding a corner piece of fabric, I wrapped my teeth around it and pulled. A few of the rocks tumbled off. But the girl was still buried, and I had so much further to go...

Suddenly, a pair of hands appeared beside me, turning black with soot as they dug through the smoking rubble. Panting, I turned my surprised look to the redheaded boy.

Since when had he cared about my charge?

Hiei appeared standing over us as the spirit fox pulled the last of the blocks off. The Sleeper's eyes were closed. I brought my face closer to hers and noticed her shallow, stuttering breaths.

Alive... an invisible weight lifted from my chest.

.

.

.

The weakened foundations gave another violent lurch and continued to tremble dangerously. With a shared look, the three of us decided as one to hurry and take leave of the unstable building.

Hiei hoisted the unconscious girl up in his arms. "Lead the way out, Kurama," he told me in his usual imperious tone.

I merely nodded, using keen eye and timeless animal instinct to pick out the safest route to the surface.

The wolf brought up the rear; he seemed to be lost deep in thought, as an unusually heavy silence built around him.

Within moments, we had reached the ground level and burst out onto the city street. Whereas before, it had been almost completely deserted, now an emergency response unit had set up a perimeter around the unstable ground. We ducked into the shadows, away from the lights that illuminated the site.

Seeking out the energy of our remaining teammates, I led us around the side of the building, and we joined up again without incident.

"Friday!" Botan exclaimed, overjoyed as she rushed over to examine her. The reaper's expression turned to one of partial dismay over seeing her battered condition.

The two boys called out as well, coming over enthusiastically to make sure it was really Friday we had retrieved from the building. They looked relieved, but they needn't have worried. We hadn't let the situation get out of hand.

No sooner had we returned to the others than Hiei turned the woman over to Yusuke, saying gruffly, "If you're so happy to see her, why don't you carry her back?"

But despite his rough demeanor, it wasn't too hard to tell that the fire apparition had grown to not mind the girl as much as other mortals. Perhaps he even had some feelings of fondness toward our newest teammate, though that was a little more difficult to determine.

We headed silently away from the area as a crowd gathered, drawn by the unstoppable force of human curiosity.

However, it wasn't long until Kuwabara spoke up: "Uh... guys. Is it just me or is Friday looking kinda blue?"

"Did you expect her to be overjoyed or something?" Yusuke retorted grumpily, carrying the girl on his back, "Of course she's blue."

"No, I mean she's _blue_ blue. Like the color," Kuwabara pointed out, leaning closer in to examine her. Perhaps the boy would be able to achieve his dream of becoming a doctor, after all.

We all gathered around to inspect, Botan wriggling her way to the front. "She's not breathing!" the ferry girl gasped, "Put her down."

Yusuke and Kuwabara stretched her out carefully on the dark pavement of the street.

The reaper leaned over the girl. Putting the heels of her palms on the girl's torso, Botan pumped vigorously, trying to get Friday's lungs working once more.

After a painfully long moment in which nothing happened, the girl suddenly gasped, drawing in breath. Over the course of a minute, the rise and fall of her lungs slowly evened out, though her eyes remained closed.

.

.

.

Alone, I sat in the darkness.

Where was I?

The blank nothingness seemed to stretch on and on forever, with no end in sight, and no ground even to position myself on. Come to think of it, I was certain I was sitting, but I didn't feel the familiar sensation of weight as the floor pressed back against me. Just that nothingness...

Who knows how long I sat there, when suddenly out of the gloom appeared a beautiful vision, directly before me.

A woman's face shone out from the darkness... she was smiling at me.

.

**AN: Yes, the title is a nod at the legendary Icarus, who flew too close to the sun and fell when his wings burned. **

**Randomness: My iPhone corrected something to "DTMB" today for the first time :D It was super exciting.**

I still have a deviantart account where I will be posting some pictures of characters, etc... to go with this story. Check it out if you want. I'm **theanonymouspen . deviantart . com** (no spaces)

I'm currently in the process of making a running Friday animation, which I'm (way too) excited about, so look forward to that soon :] Depending on how that goes, I make incorporate that into a short "theme video" with my characters. Or something like that.

Thank you for reading :)

**Preview: Who is that mystery woman? Only the author knows... Fufufufufu :}**

**Please REVIEW!**


	34. Chosen

**_Angel of Randomosity:_Haha. Sounds like _somebody_ had too much sugar... or maybe that's some weird side-effect of the emotional roller coaster I put you through? Ehehe. Sorry... And good choice. Hati plays a larger role, anyway. **

**_nevvy_: Meh. I wrote Friday's initial part without flashbacks the first time around, then realized that for people who don't live in Friday's mind (or have Friday living in their mind, whatever the case may be), it might be a bit confusing why she suddenly went into emotional overload. So I added them. Hati's were written that way from the start. Don't worry, I'm not too interested in flashbacks. **

**_Guest1:_ Calm yourself... haha. I'm not upset that you didn't review. I was just trying to make sure there were still people reading this with the start of school... school... blah. Glad you liked the peek into Hati's fuzzy cranium. Friday stopped breathing because her body was having a negative reaction to the destructive light. And Kurama might care more than he's allowing himself to care at the moment... wink wink ;] Though his brain is still more focused on the analytical side of things, as you may notice below. **

**_Guest2:_ Have an art request yet? (you can PM me when you think of it, too). I'm glad you enjoy my OC pics :D (warm, fuzzy feelings). Glad you thought the flashbacks contributed to understanding the characters' strange minds. And yes! Muahaha... another Hati fan. :] Botan really cares about Friday (even if she is a meddler) and Friday recognizes that and does cherish their friendship, true. And you forget the dream goddesses' name because (Muahaha! ... Ahem) I haven't told you yet ;}**

**_Puppylove7:_ Art request? PM or review to let me know :) And I'm flattered. I believe it's the goal of every author to grab the reader's attention and really draw them into the story as if they, too, were a part of it. Admittedly, that's harder to do in short, weekly installments, but it's not written yet. And this is the only way I'll ever get it written, I'm sure. Meh. **

**_Ninjawolf1313:_ Muahaha! (pretends I'm good at surprises) You'll just have to read and see... (Actually, I do feel like I can't be too vague when trying to surprise you guys, since I'm sure you'd all probably forget little, seemingly unimportant things when so much time goes by between posting one part of the story and another. I'll just blame it on that... yeah.) As a famous parrot once said, "I think I'll have a heart attack and die of not surprised!"**

**_mrsbeggins:_ Haha. There's still so much story left to cover. And at the rate I'm going, it really may never end. Looks like you might get your wish after all...**

_**. . .**_

"**M**oonlight drowns out all but the brightest stars**." ― J.R.R. Tolkien **

_**. . .**_

A light drizzle fell over the city as our small group plodded along through the darkness.

Yusuke led the way to a deserted area where we had arranged for Koenma to send a portal to Genkai's temple, the girl still unconscious in the spirit detective's grip.

Kuwabara and Botan followed close behind; he questioned her loudly regarding the events that had passed before our arrival on the scene.

I gathered that our opponents were widening their attack range, branching out to take care of even the non-fighters who opposed their cause.

The thought crossed my mind that I should have been the one asking such questions, but somehow I couldn't justify opening my mouth to break the strange silence that hung, like a cloud, over the three of us who marched slowly behind.

Hiei was just as quiet as he kept pace by my side. With a glance, I noticed his eyes fixed on the girl, her purple hair swaying slightly as she bobbed up and down on Yusuke's back with each step he took.

The wolf, I knew, was behind. I could hear the slow click of his toenails as he plodded along. Or at least, I could have heard them a moment ago...

I, too, halted and looked back. Hati was stopped. I could not see his eyes as he hung his head to the ground. Rain ran in rivulets through his charred fur.

I did not want to break the silence, and yet...

"Hati," I called out to him softly across the pavement, "Is something the matter?"

At first, he didn't answer. Feeling a strong sympathy for the wolf, I remained and faced him, waiting.

The rain came down harder, plastering red locks across my forehead. A thick strand drooped into my eye, and I brushed it away, clearing my vision as I examined the wolf with careful eyes.

He spoke with a thick voice, head hanging in a dejected slump as he seemed to talk to the pavement between his two paws: "What would _she_ say if she could see me now? Sending such a worthless creature to protect those she has chosen..."

He trailed off, but I sensed it was not the end.

"Hati! Kurama! We're gonna leave you behind!" the brash voice of the spirit detective called.

The wolf's head snapped up as he seemed to come to his senses, pulled back from the black pits of despair.

But for a brief moment, I caught a glimpse of something potent that lingered in his silver eyes.

Remorse.

I sighed. It was gone now, his silver eyes carefully guarded, whatever reminisces he had been having now locked securely away.

We turned to rejoin the others.

.

.

.

"It would appear you are broken inside," the celestial woman said with a sad smile as she stood before me, cocking her head to the side as she examined me in my lightless condition.

Those eyes... They were so deep, it felt like I could fall straight into them and never come out. Each one was a well of stars.

"Do not fear, Friday, for you were _chosen_. Remember, you are limited only by what you think you cannot do," her words of advice like a gentle whisper floated across the space to me, almost as if there was not enough air between us for me to hear her properly.

The words... I could tell they were important from the way she spoke them, but for some reason I just couldn't understand what exactly she meant.

"Why is it that you fight?" she questioned softly, awaiting my answer. From out of the folds of her dress - - a gauzy blue the exact shade of twilight - - points of light like small stars winked out at me. Though none were bigger than a pinprick, each was brilliant.

"To... protect?" I whispered hesitantly, reluctant to fill the silence with my voice that was so harsh in comparison to her lovely tones.

She dipped her head in an elegant nod of affirmation, and a long, twisting braid of dark hair slipped over her shoulder, the tip brushing against her ankle.

"And what is it that holds you back?" she asked, voice floating like a gentle breeze.

My brow furrowed as I looked up at her, but I had no response to give the woman.

"I cannot give you the answer... only the question," she told me kindly, "You must look inside yourself to find your own light."

My light... So it wasn't gone forever. But how was I supposed to find it again?

"My time here is short," she interrupted my puzzled thoughts with a smile, "I cannot stay. But I will be watching over you... always."

Her promise rang true.

"There is another, who will be soon in coming," she gestured, and out from behind her trailing sleeve of stars, a vision of a grey wolf appeared, lighter in fur than Hati, and with striking golden eyes, "My servant, Sköll. I leave him with you."

She dipped her royal head once more and turned in a graceful movement, gauzy fabric trailing slightly behind her as she retreated back into the darkness that consumed her form long before it should have faded from sight.

"Remember... You were _chosen_, Friday..." the quiet whisper carried back to me through the empty space, the blank nothingness left all the more bleak by the disappearance of that divine presence, so stunningly beautiful and overwhelmingly kind.

And as I stared at the blank space left behind, my checks were watered with unstoppable tears, unsure if I cried because of the overpowering feeling of goodness that had been, or of its current loss.

.

.

.

I assisted Yusuke in gently lowering the girl onto a mat. She stirred slightly, but soon settled again into an immobile state.

With a last look at the girl, Yusuke exited the room to join Botan and Kuwabara in explaining the night's events to a very concerned Yukina and Genkai.

This left Hati, Hiei, and I to wait in silence around the girl. I had made certain this time that she was not put in that uncomfortably tight converted broom closet - - why did such a room even exist in a building of this size?

Hiei was already perched on the windowsill. He adopted a languid position, but the way his eyes flickered back to the Sleeper every now and again betrayed his agitation.

From where I knelt beside her, I reached down to check her pulse. The girl's flesh was unnaturally cool as my fingers closed on her wrist.

"She's cold," I exclaimed in mild surprise. Cold, but alive. Though the pulse was weak, her heart beat steadily. She would recover.

"She's always cold," Hati responded in a distant tone as I pulled away.

"Oh. Is that so," I murmured, as I felt the silence creeping in once more, suppressing my words. Our strange, sombre vigil resumed.

I settled down on my knees in a corner of the room, keeping a careful eye on the wolf, wondering how best to prompt him into continuing his earlier thoughts. They had a weight of importance to them, and I did not feel I should let it go unresolved.

Hati slowly wandered to a position beside the Sleeper's head, taking a seat and looking down at her with impenetrable silver eyes.

I shifted slightly to a more comfortable position.

My green eyes bored into him curiously, trying to uncover whatever secret lay buried within. I drew a breath, preparing to make an inquiry.

But as it turned out, I needn't have bothered.

Hati's own thoughts from earlier continued of their own accord, though the words were ponderous and heavy: "What was _she_ thinking? Even under the careful watch of my brother and I..."

His eyes grew even further distant, if possible, and though he looked down into the girl's face, it was apparent he did not see her.

And then, a heavy confession, one that made the wheels in my head spin: "What happened to the Sleepers fifty years ago... was no accident." What before had been mere speculation was now laid before us as the unquestionable truth.

But if it was not an accident, what then?

His dark look lightened, his tone almost disbelieving as he continued in his musings: "And yet, by some miracle, we have been given another chance," his gaze fixed on the girl, seeing her, "I will not fail this time..." His silver eyes hardened in their conviction.

The determined words crushed the tense silence in the room with their weight. It would seem he, too, carried some heavy scars on his heart. Was there any being of so many years who didn't?

_This time..._ I turned the words over in my head.

What was the consequence of failure? A dark thought crept slowly into my mind. But without proper evidence, all this musing was mere speculation.

I was surprised to find the wolf had not yet finished. He spoke again and his words took on some of the lingering sadness that hung about his form as he looked down at the unconscious girl: "But every day, the irony of seeing those eyes... mocks me."

Why those eyes? Her eyes? I frowned pensively.

He volunteered no more information for us.

But I could no longer sit still, when an answer was potentially so close within my grasp.

"Hati..." I broke the silence hesitantly, keeping my tone respectful, "What exactly happened to the Sleepers fifty years ago?"

Momentarily, he looked away from the girl, silver eyes meeting mine. They glinted with something ancient and deep. It was strange, seeing eyes containing such properties in an even greater quantity than my own.

He cocked his head to the side, deliberating a moment how much to reveal. "There is still much we do not know," Hati slowly responded, "However, I can tell you this..."

My weight shifted forward slightly. I needed to know.

The girl jolted suddenly to sitting position, awakening at a most inconvenient moment.

Startled, I stiffened and leaned back. Hati's jaw snapped closed. It may be a long time before such a chance would arise again... a chance to hear the truth.

I restrained a sigh and resolved myself to wait.

Hati stood and leaned in curiously, trying to look into her face.

I watched as the girl touched her cheeks with hesitant fingertips. She pulled them away and examined them as if she was surprised to find that they were dry.

The look on her face... Overwhelmed may be the proper term for it. The expression was one often seen on those rare faces who have seen something so pure, so beautiful that it leaves a long-lasting and deep impression that cannot be forgotten even with the passage of time.

"I _saw_ her..." the girl finally whispered, breathlessly.

She turned her face to Hati, who sat patiently by her side, though her eyes were clouded over in deep thought.

"I understand now... how those Sleepers must have felt, long ago. It would be easy... to give your life for someone like that..." her words were numb, as if she hadn't quite returned to reality. The girl's eyes glimmered with something hidden beneath the surface: a vision only she could see.

"Friday..." the wolf warned, "Do not let that be an excuse to do something foolish."

She looked up as if seeing him for the first time and directed a small smile at the wolf.

"Friday!" a chorus of voices exclaimed as their owners burst into the room.

She blinked up at them, blanket gathered loosely around her seated form.

Botan, Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Genkai had all returned to see her. Hiei sauntered into the room behind them. I stared; I hadn't even noticed him leave to inform the others when the girl awakened.

The fire apparition shot a smug look my way. He knew he'd caught me at a moment when I'd been too preoccupied to notice his departure.

'_No. You've just gotten soft, Kurama,'_ his voice teased in a flat tone inside my head, eliciting a frown in response. The fire apparition knew me so well he didn't even need to read my mind to know what I was thinking at times. It was... unsettling.

"Hey, where's Yukina?" the girl's voice interrupted my thoughts as she surveyed the occupants of the room.

The others traded looks.

Genkai was the one to answer: "In light of the recent attack on Botan, we decided it was safest if she limited her time here in the human world for now. Koenma was kind enough to facilitate her quick return to the Makai."

Seeing the girl's look dampen, she added gruffly, "Don't worry. You'll see Yukina again." Friday's look brightened a bit, though she still seemed rather glum.

"I suppose it's for the best..." she assented, "I just wish I could've said goodbye. How long was I out for anyway? Couldn't you guys have waited a couple minutes?"

Botan rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly, "Um... Well, you see, you weren't out for very long - - not more than a couple of hours - - but we didn't know when you were going to wake up, so we thought it would be best if she hurried back."

Genkai spoke up again, "The Makai is a dangerous place, but she knows how to navigate it. Don't forget our sweet, little ice maiden is a demon, after all. And Yukina has strong friends there to protect her. She is much safer being in a place where they will not be seeking her. If we can keep them unaware of her existence, all the better."

The girl sighed, "You're right."

Despite myself, I felt a twinge of admiration for the fact that she was handling this all so calmly. It seemed the girl may have a more reasonable head on her shoulders than I had given her credit for, after all.

.

.

.

"Oi. Did you hear about that suspected bombing of a parking garage last night?" the boy, Shimabukuro asked from his spot beside me on the porch. I looked over at his sprawled form and turned my face back to the sky. I laid with arms spread, watching the clouds pass by overhead as I deliberated how to answer.

"Eh? A _bombing_..." I went for a surprised approach and rubbed my neck, repressing a bout of nervous laughter. So is that what they were calling it? I really wasn't a good liar, but he didn't seem to notice.

"You should be careful if you go out at night," he said quietly, and there was a note of something I didn't quite catch in his voice.

Oh, Shimabukuro. You don't need to worry, but it's so cute when you do...

I allowed myself a brief smile and switched topics.

.

.

.

The girl beside me sighed, and I glanced at her out of the corner of my eye.

"So... what are we gonna do, Shimabu-kun?" she asked, staring up at the sky.

There it was, that silly nickname again. Something stirred inside of me, but the feeling was strange. Afraid to examine it too closely, I pushed it away.

"Who knows..." I replied slowly, trying to keep my cool.

Go away, stupid feeling. I don't have time for you right now.

"We could play cards," Friday suggested, oblivious to the twisting feeling inside of me that welled up, threatening to swallow me whole.

"No way," I protested, "You'll win... Again." Why did she have to be so good at everything? It wasn't fair.

"Then..." the girl thought a bit, lips pursing.

_Stop bothering me, whatever you are_, I told the feeling.

"How about a snowball fight?" she suggested.

Seriously? I gave her a flat look. "We just had one a couple hours ago. I don't think there's any more snow left to throw. It's all melting," I informed her, and turned my face away, feeling it heat up as I remembered how she's beat me at that too.

I hated losing. Especially in front of her. Wasn't there anything that I could win? How was I ever supposed to stand up next to her like this?

"Well, then, you come up with something!" the girl huffed, brow creasing, as she blew her purple bangs angrily out of her eyes.

I stared up at the clouds for a moment: "Hmm... The sky looks like it's clearing up. It should be getting pretty warm at the beach by now." Throwing an arm up to shade my eyes, I noticed my tan was fading. It had been a while since I'd been there, since I'd listened to the sound of the waves and felt the sand between my toes...

"What'll we do at the beach?" Friday asked doubtfully.

I sat up and looked down at her, shrugging as I thought, "I dunno. Surfing?" If she wanted me to come up with something, she should just agree. My eyebrows pulled together in mild annoyance.

"Eh... I've never been," she said.

A light bulb clicked on in my head. Could it be... something I could finally beat her at!?

Determination flooded me. I _would_ win this.

"It's a challenge, then!" I shouted as excitement roared to life inside me like a flame, jumping to my feet.

"What?" the girl looked at me blankly, sitting up.

"We're going to the beach. Go change," I ordered.

"Uh... O... kay..." she said in a disbelieving way, and stood slowly, disappearing into the temple.

I chuckled maniacally to myself.

She would not beat me this time...

I refused to lose!

A grin split my face.

I paced as I waited for the girl. What was taking her so long? She was delaying my victory...

"Shimabu-kun?" her voice said tentatively from behind me and I jumped a bit. How was she so silent all the time?

I recovered and spun to face her, drawing a breath, prepared to tell her off for making me wait so long.

But seeing her, I stopped, blinking in confusion. "What are you wearing?" I finally asked.

"I'm going surfing in this," she said, holding her arms out so I could get a better view of her long, baggy shorts and tank top.

I scoffed, "No, you aren't. The water resistance will drag you right off the back of your surfboard. Geez... don't you know anything? Go put on a suit."

She frowned and mumbled something my direction that didn't sound pleasant. I noticed she didn't leave to change.

Stepping up to her, I leaned over and peered into her pouting face. "Ooo. What are you afraid of?" I teased, "Don't want me to find out you have weird piercings? A tattoo, maybe? Ohoho." I laughed to annoy her, knowing it would send her off in a huff to go put on a swimsuit. That girl just loved to prove people wrong.

As I predicted, she stuck out her chin and whirled on her heel to go change. She wouldn't stand for anyone saying she was afraid.

.

.

.

We finally made it to the beach after a brief detour to pick up Shimabukuro's boards.

Hesitantly, I looked around me. I hadn't wanted to wear a suit.

The scars didn't bother me anymore when I was around the gang, but in front of so many _normal_ people... my eyes shifted to the left and right of me, quietly examining the people on the beach. They would probably think I was some kind of freak. What sort of person has scars like that anyway? How would someone even go about being injured like that if they hadn't encountered a beast like a Nightmare? I couldn't even think of a convincing excuse.

"What are you doing?" Shimabukuro called, waist-deep in the water, "Hurry it up!"

"Hai, hai. Coming," I hurriedly stripped off my overclothes and ran into the water after him, trying to overcome my lingering reservations by being quick about it.

I splashed into the water beside him, but he didn't even look. The boy just waded in ahead of me, a large grin stretched across his face. Well, at least I didn't have to worry about him gawking at me in a bathing suit, I thought wryly.

Quietly, I looked over at him, noticing he had a couple of fledgling tattoos. One set wrapped around a shoulder with vibrant colors, the other wound around the opposing collarbone. They reminded me of waves. Well, he still had a long way to go before he acquired a collection like the boss had...

My silent examination ended when he shoved a board toward me and instructed me on how to paddle out. When he judged we were a decent enough distance out to stop, I struggled into a seated position on top of the board.

Shyly, I peeked at him from under my eyelashes, unable to hide the scars any longer.

He glanced over at me, but didn't say anything.

Seriously...?

A frown tugged down the corners of my mouth. I thought I would be glad, but somehow it made me agitated by how anticlimactic it was.

"Here it comes! Stand up!" he told me and leapt to his feet on the board.

I tried to stand, but my feet wouldn't cooperate and I slipped, scrambling to hold onto the edge of the surfboard.

His hand reached down to jerk me up to standing right as the wave hit. It didn't do me much good. I still lost my balance a couple seconds later and toppled off the wobbling board.

The waves crushed me under their weight, shoving me about like a leaf in the wind.

Spitting a stream of salt-water out, I resurfaced, breaking free of the water's hold. Drying my eyes, I pushed wet bangs away and looked around for Shimabukuro.

He was paddling back, grinning.

"What's the matter? You look like a drowned kitten," he called across the distance, teasing me.

I glowered at him and scrambled back up onto the board.

"Here," he said, offering up something that looked suspiciously like a hair tie.

"Where did you get this?" I asked the boy. It seemed like an odd thing for him to have on hand.

"I found it on the beach," he pointed back to the shore.

I stuck my lip out in a pout, "I don't want to use some stranger's hair tie." Who knew what kind of germs were on that thing...

"_Just take it._ Maybe if you can see you won't be falling over so easily," he reached across the space between us and gathered up my hair. I felt my cheeks redden as his fingers brushed the skin on my neck. He pulled the wet mass of hair over my shoulder toward him as he snapped the tie in place around it. Giving the ponytail a brief tug, he let go and leaned back onto his own board.

I looked away, hoping the blush would fade faster in the chilly air.

Unfortunately, I didn't get any better at riding the waves despite the hair tie. But I did learn how to get back up onto my board pretty effectively after what must have been the thirtieth time or so of getting knocked off of it.

We sat, waiting for a wave to appear. The cold air brushed against my bare skin and I shivered slightly at its touch.

A fin rose out of the water between us.

My eyes popped open wide and I shot out of the water yelling "SHARK!" at the top of my lungs.

More fins rose ominously from the dark seawater.

I leapt onto Shimabukuro's board and wrapped my arms in a vice-like grip around his neck as I tried in panic to get as far away from the murky water as possible.

He made a small choking sound, and I looked down into his strained face. I was about to release him when a shadow fell over us.

I looked up just in time to get an eyeful of seawater as a wave crashed down over our heads, sending us and our boards tumbling through the water as we were swept back to shore.

Spluttering, I disentangled myself from the coughing boy and flopped onto the sand beside him, breathing hard.

"Those..." he panted, "Were dolphins... _baka_."

A heavy blush crept up my cheeks. I grumbled something unintelligible at him, not really having a good response.

He sighed, "Just get back in the water..." a slow grin crept onto his face, "You still haven't beaten me at surfing yet."

I blinked, looking up at him in mild confusion.

Oh? Were we competing?

.

.

.

Shimabukuro had been so much enjoying beating me at something for once that I don't think he would have ever agreed to stop had he not been stung by a jellyfish.

Ironically, it was one of those times when he had managed to catch a ride to shore and I had not that he'd stepped on it.

I balanced on my haunches, examining the red welt.

The beach around us was nearly deserted as the sun sunk toward the horizon.

"You should pee on it," I finally said.

"What?" he gaped in shock.

"You should know this, Mr. Beach Expert," I gave him a flat look.

"Of course!" he protested, annoyed, "But I can't do it with you _looking!"_

"I'm not _going_ to be looking, _baka_," I stood and turned away, crossing my arms, "There's a nice little bush over there if you want some privacy." I nodded my head at the spot.

I stood where I was for a minute, waiting.

"Hey! You there! Stop!" a loud voice called. A sharp whistle split the air. I turned my head toward the source. "Eliminations are not allowed on the beach!"

Nearby, I could hear Shimabukuro fumbling around the bush. "Beach patrol! Don't just stand there, RUN!" he instructed, grabbing up the surfboards under his arms.

I jerked to attention, realizing we were gonna be in trouble real soon if we didn't get out of there, and grabbed up the bundles of street clothes we had left lying on the shore.

Together, we dashed down the beach, feet flinging sand up behind us.

"This is all your fault," Shimabukuro shot the words at me as we ran.

"My fault!? How is this my fault?" I retorted, "You're the one who did it!"

"But you're the one who told me to!" he shouted back.

"Well I wouldn't have had to tell you if you hadn't stepped on it in the first place!" I yelled his direction.

Shimabukuro's face reddened: "Hey! I'm the victim here! How about some concern for the injured?"

"You're running fast enough. I'd say your foot is just fine!" I shot back snidely.

He ground his teeth together, but didn't respond. After a few minutes of silence, with nothing but the crashing of the waves and the pounding of our feet to keep us company, he spoke: "I think we're okay to stop now." His red-orange mane flew into his face as he turned his head to look behind him. The beach patrolman was nowhere in sight.

We stopped and took a moment to collect ourselves.

He stuck the boards in the sand, and I separated the clothes, tossing his items to him.

After a moment, I noticed the strange looks people walking by shot in my direction. I frowned.

Peering up at the boy as he toweled himself dry, I cleared my throat a bit hesitantly and spoke up: "Um... Shimabu-kun?"

"Yeah?" his eyes slid lazily over to me.

"I just wanted to say thanks... You know, for not making a big deal about the scars," I mumbled embarrassedly.

"Eh? What are you talking about?" his brow furrowed in a confused sort of way.

"You know... these ones," I gestured to my torso with a hand, rubbing the back of my neck self-consciously with the other.

Shimabukuro looked down. And stared. And blinked. And continued to stare.

"WHAT THE HECK ARE THOSE!" he exclaimed loudly, pointing.

"Eh!?" my mouth hung open, a dumbfounded expression plastered across my face, "You mean you didn't even notice?" My eyebrows came together angrily.

That guy... he hadn't even seen them!? Well, I guess that would explain his "quiet consideration" earlier. I snorted derisively.

"Nevermind, I take my thank-you back," I huffed, and tugged my shirt over my head with a swift jerk.

I ignored him as he continued to splutter in shock.

.

**AN: A lot of stuff has happened since the last post a week ago. I sprained my ankle, made my first animation sequence, moved and am living alone with my dog, and started graduate school (which is going to be the death of me). I will, of course, try to continue posting every week. However, I was informed today by everyone that I am now entering "hell," so we'll see how that goes. Encouragement, please?**

I still have a deviantart account where I will be posting some pictures of characters, etc... to go with this story. Check it out if you want. I'm **theanonymouspen . deviantart . com** (no spaces)

**Update:** Finally, I'm able to post the "spoilers" on deviantart. Go check it out. There's a lot of new stuff there now, such as a picture of the nameless goddess (she has a name, it's just a secret ;] ) with her wolves, a short animation of a running Friday (and Hati now too!) (not really a spoiler), and a brief comic strip of a part of the surfing scene (I just couldn't help myself). Oh, and there's a Nightmare in there too (If it doesn't scare you enough, just continue to imagine it however you were before...)

Thank you for reading :)

**Preview: A new enemy finally appears! **

**Please REVIEW!**


	35. Koa

**ATTENTION: This will be on the exam (Alright, just kidding.) But I thought I should post a little refresher/clarification since it's been a while since Chapter 9 (egads!) The dream goddess has two servants, the wolf brothers Hati and Sköll. Hati in Norse myth chases the moon while Sköll chases the sun. The main villain thus far is Tsuki-Yomi (the moon god). However, don't forget that he, too, has a sibling: the sun goddess Amaterasu (sun... Sköll...) even though she hasn't appeared yet. Got that? Excellent. Moving on... (Oh, and the song is "Dream to Make Believe." Seriously, I know it's the title, but have any of you guys ever even heard of it? I'm actually curious.)**

**_Puppylove7:_ Thank you! And glad you liked the Shima x Friday fluffness :}**

**_Guest1:_ Muahaha. Shima x Friday fans are everywhere! Lol. I'm glad you thought the comic strip was funny. And about the roots... she's only been there about a month, but you may be onto something. Either you're very sharp, or you're a fellow hair dye junkie... hmm...**

**_Guest2:_ (See first note.) Well, I did call her the dream goddess, but that's not a name precisely. Ehehe...he. You may be saving it for a while, then, but a Friday x Kura scene will come eventually. Someday... if school doesn't kill me first... maybe... Ahem. Haha. I don't know if you could call Hati's worry "inconspicuous", but I'm glad you thought they were all cute little worrywarts anyway. Kurama is still too wrapped up in his overanalytical massive brainwaves to notice inconspicuous emotions at the moment. Someday... **

**_Angel of Randomosity:_ I swear I'm going to have to keep those two under lock and key. Before you run off with them... lol. (though Hati might look forward to a better future with no worries where he sits on a satin pillow and eats poptarts all day... or something)**

**_Guest3:_ I'll post, I promise! I try to post Fridays (Get it? Ha.) but don't worry if I don't post. It's not on hiatus. I'm just in school. And I will feel bad about it, so I'll try to keep it up. Thank you for the review and the praise :3 haha. **

**_btSMTMSJ:_ I'm glad you thought the Nightmare was adequate. And that you love the story :} Thank you for reviewing!**

_**. . .**_

"**W**hat would an ocean be without a monster lurking in the dark? It would be like sleep without dreams**." ― Werner Herzog**

_**. . .**_

I made my way down the hallway of the temple, looking for the girl.

She had assured us over the communicator that she was feeling perfectly fine, and would be joining us on the hunt tonight, but I wondered... After all, only yesterday she had nearly incinerated herself with her own light.

A slightly muffled voice drifted down the hall to meet me:

"It's funny how things work out... the ones we need don't know we're there. If I were sand, and you were oceans... the moon would be why you're pulled to me."

I frowned pensively. That voice... it sounded like the girl's. Funny, I'd never heard her singing before - - drunken slurring hardly counts, after all.

"I wake up and think dreams are real. I sleep so I don't have to feel... the truth that you can't ever be... the one person that won't ever forget me."

I cocked an ear to catch the melodic tones. It was surprisingly pleasant on my ears. Not an angelic voice, but it had personality.

Reaching the door where the voice emanated from, I stopped. It was the bathroom. I noticed the sound of running water. Starting to sigh, I caught myself and remained silent, thinking. Her words murmured quietly in the background of my thoughts as she continued singing, but I ignored them.

Well... I supposed I should still inform her that it was time to leave...

I raised a hand to knock.

"Let me sleep some more..."

I hesitated. It seemed rude to interrupt a shower, but hadn't she done so for me once before, that time when I had first proclaimed her "foe"? An eye for an eye... as the saying goes.

"Let me sleep some more..."

Something about those words, that haunting voice, pulled at me uncomfortably.

Lowering my hand, I turned away and retreated down the hall as silently as I had come.

I stepped out of the hallway, entering the common room. "Hey, where's Friday?" Yusuke questioned in a slightly miffed tone as I rejoined them.

"She is almost ready. We will wait," I replied, putting my hands in my pockets.

.

.

.

"I wonder if Friday is alright?" Kuwabara said to his friend as they walked down the street together on patrol.

"Hati's with her, right?" Yusuke responded, "I'm sure she'll be fine."

Kuwabara sighed, "Yeah... I guess." He stopped walking.

It took Yusuke a moment to realize he'd left his friend behind.

"What's the matter, Kuwabara? Yukina would be jealous that you're worrying so much over another girl," he teased, though his suggestion was entirely ridiculous.

The carrot top didn't respond.

Yusuke's eyebrows knit together at the look on Kuwabara's face: "Are you gonna sneeze or something?"

"I feel something _weird_ coming," Kuwabara forced out.

Yusuke snorted, "Well, whatever it is, I'm sure we can handle it." A cocky grin stretched across his face. He brought a thumb up to point at his chest confidently, "After all, I am Spirit Detecti - - "

"AAAAUUUUAAAGGGHH!" Kuwabara shouted, pointing at a spot behind the spirit detective.

"Jeez, Kuwabara. What'd you hafta interrupt me for?" Yusuke grumbled, annoyed.

"Aaa - - a - - aa - - " Kuwabara stuttered, still pointing.

Yusuke Urameshi finally turned around to see what had gotten the carrot top so worked up.

A small, imp-like creature floated in the air in front of a swirling black vortex that they recognized as an enemy portal.

"Good evening," it said in a high-pitched voice that seemed to have a permanent tremor in it.

"What _is_ that thing?" Kuwabara yelled, still pointing.

"That's very rude," it squeaked and frowned at the carrot top, "I'm actually not here to talk to _you_."

"Then what are you here for?" Yusuke asked, eyes narrowing suspiciously.

"I have a message from my superior for the Spirit Detective, Yusuke Urameshi," it said.

"I'm listening," Yusuke said slowly.

The small imp cleared its throat and began to read off a scroll. "'Good evening,'" it recited, "'I am Koa, subordinate of Tsuki-Yomi, commander in his glorious army. The commander, Rikyu, likes to play with his prey. However, I assure you, I do not. You have no part in this fight. Break off your alliance with the Sleeper, and the one most precious to you will not be harmed...' That is all." Finished delivering the message, the imp rolled up the scroll and stepped backwards into the portal, disappearing from view.

"Keiko!" Yusuke exclaimed in alarm as he suddenly realized the implications of the imp's passed-along words.

He broke into a run, speeding toward the ramen shop, Kuwabara close on his heels.

"Hey! Why didn't I get a message?" Kuwabara asked belatedly, feeling cheated, "I'm just as much a part of the team as you are, 'cept my sword works a heck of a lot better."

"Who would he have to threaten you with?" Yusuke replied, shouting over his shoulder, "Yukina's back in the Makai, remember? And your crazy sister is a match for just about any demon, or, uh... whatever these people are."

"Yeah, I guess," Kuwabara assented.

"Just be grateful they don't have any leverage to use on you yet," Yusuke told him as he kept running.

Finally reaching the ramen shop, Yusuke stormed in. "Where's Keiko!?" he demanded in a loud yell. Kuwabara followed right on his heels, panting and out of breath.

The restaurant's patrons looked up from their various dishes with startled looks. One choked on a noodle.

"My, my, Yusuke. Calm down. We have customers," Keiko's mother told him from behind the counter, "She went to the store to stock up on fish cakes. We were almost out."

Yusuke turned on his heel and ran back out, not wasting a second. With a hurried apology to the restaurant's occupants, Kuwabara followed him.

.

.

.

I crossed my arms behind my head as I wandered. Hati had just received an urgent call from Koenma, and had agreed to let me continue searching for Nightmares by myself for a while, as long as I didn't wander too far from him.

So I paced the near-empty streets and kept a wary eye out.

A familiar head of brown hair caught my eye and I straightened, arms dropping to my sides. I started toward the girl, who was loaded down with bags of groceries.

"Keiko!" I called out to her from down the side-alley.

"Ah! Friday," she called back, "Good eve - - "

She gasped, whirling around as something caught her eye. The bags of groceries fell from her startled hands.

I bolted forward, entering her street just as a tall figure dove into view, a long, thin sword forming an extension of his arm.

"KEIKO!" I heard a strained shout that sounded a lot like Yusuke's coming from somewhere behind me.

But I knew I would reach the girl first. I had to do something.

I jumped in front of her and stretched out my hands, my first thought to deflect the weapon.

But he was too fast, and before I could make a movement, I found the thin sliver of a blade pierced straight through my exposed palm.

"Tch," the man's icy blue eyes looked at me from out of a slightly tanned face, devoid of all warmth.

Hissing through my teeth at the pain, I watched as the blood rolled down my forearm, dripping from my elbow to fall in thick splashes to the ground.

Yusuke snatched Keiko up from behind me and held her protectively in his arms.

"Get her out of here!" I told him, knowing I wouldn't be able to delay the man much longer.

Even Botan had stayed away from the patrol today. And it seemed that what happened with her wasn't simply an accident; our opponents were now officially targeting non-combatants in an attempt to win this fight.

Yusuke grunted in affirmation and I heard his feet speeding away.

My eyes remained fixed on the swordsman in front of me, immobile as we stared each other down. His long, blue-black hair was separated into three segments - - just like Rikyu's, I thought - - and each flowed about him in an irritated way that reminded me of the lashing of a cat's tail. A silver band identical to Rikyu's settled on his head. Moonlight glinted off the metal pendant embedded in his chest, drawing my gaze.

With a battle cry, Kuwabara charged in from the side, sword held at the ready. He swung it down in an arcing motion.

Swiftly and with an unnatural silence of movement, the man retracted his blade from my flesh, and I gasped as the double-edge blade scraped through the wound on its way out. Not wasting a moment, he brought the bloodied sword up to block Kuwabara's crude attack.

The metal of his sword rang out with a pure tone as it vibrated from the contact.

The tall man pulled back with startling speed, gracefully floating backward through the air. His black pants that were so much like Rikyu's attire at our first meeting swayed about him in an invisible breeze.

Kuwabara stumbled forward as the pressure against his sword was lifted.

The man looked with cold eyes down the street where Yusuke had vanished. Then, with a small, annoyed sound, he disappeared, a portal opening for him.

It sealed shut behind the man, and Kuwabara and I were left alone in the deserted street.

"Koa..." he whispered gravely, eyes still fixed on the place where the man had been.

"What?" I turned, clutching my still-bleeding hand where the inch-wide incision had gone clean through, "You know that guy?"

Kuwabara turned worried eyes to me and relayed the message they had received.

.

.

.

Our group reunited at the ramen shop, calling it a night.

Botan had returned, responding to the boys' protests that it wasn't safe by saying she had to fix my hand.

I was staring at the thickly bandaged hand now, as I tried with difficulty to pick up my chopsticks. Why did it always have to be the right hand?

Finally, I resorted to arranging the chopsticks with my left hand's help. But even then, my right hand couldn't make them move together to pick anything up.

I tried to lift a noodle out of the bowl of ramen before me, but only succeeded in sending my chopsticks into the bowl with a splash.

Alright... forget the right hand.

I fished the utensils out with my left and tried to hold them, feeling as though I may as well try to use my feet. My left hand wasn't used to the motions it required to operate the Asian contraptions, and the results were just about as pathetic as before.

I didn't drop the chopsticks into the bowl this time, but I did drop all the other ingredients that I tried to pick up.

The chatter of the others dimly reached my ears, but I wasn't hearing what they were saying. I was fully focused on the bowl before me, staring it down. My brow creased.

"Hn. What are you doing, woman?" Hiei's sharp voice broke my concentration.

I shot a glare at him and proceeded to studiously ignore the unhelpful fire apparition.

"Are you in need of assistance?" a smooth voice cut into my thoughts.

For a moment, I didn't recognize who had spoken. I looked slowly up into curious green eyes. Kurama? Was he seriously... trying to be helpful?

I blinked up into his eyes.

"Ah..." I said dumbly, unable to think of a response.

"A fork, perhaps?" he suggested, and turned to the woman behind the counter - - Keiko's mother - - to request the Western utensil.

"I'm really very sorry!" the woman apologized, bowing repeatedly, "We aren't exactly a tourist location, so we don't have any. Sorry!" Did shop owners always apologize so fervently here in Japan?

Kurama fell silent and didn't offer up any new advice. I guess I'd known all along just to take matters into my own hands. I turned my gaze back to the bowl in front of me.

Okay... new strategy.

I tried to pick up the bowl, though the awkward lump of bandage that was my right hand caused it to wobble dangerously. Overcoming this adversity valiantly, I raised it to my lips - - without spilling the hot soup all over me - - and tipped the contents into my mouth.

The tangle of long noodles went straight into my throat, choking me.

Replacing the bowl on the table before it could spill, I gagged and spluttered, finally clearing my airway enough to suck in a breath.

"You could always eat like Hati over there," Yusuke suggested, helpful as always. The nerve of that guy... laughing.

My gaze went to Hati, who was lapping up his noodles, face buried in the bowl.

"If I have to eat like a dog, I won't eat at all," I said stiffly. Reclining cooly, I crossed my arms behind my head and closed my eyes, shutting the others out.

Hati didn't object to the comment about the way he ate, saying only "Wolf."

Something wet bounced off my chin and my eyes shot open. A thick, white, udon noodle dangled before my nose. Beyond it, Botan's face.

"Oops, sorry," the bluenette giggled an apology.

"What are you doing?" I asked suspiciously.

"Helping you eat, silly. Here. Open up," she dangled the noodle closer, smiling wider.

My stomach growled, and reluctantly, I obeyed. I could feel my face turning red in humiliation. Yusuke nearly busted up laughing.

I finished swallowing carefully and shot him a look. "Hey, Friday. Thanks for saving Keiko's life. Don't mention it, Yusuke. No need to be concerned," I grumbled under my breath at him. But he was laughing so hard, I don't think he heard.

Drawing a breath, the spirit detective paused in his loud laughter. "Here comes the train! Choochoo. Open up, Friday!" Yusuke teased, and burst once more into hysterics.

"Can it, bub. Just 'cause my left hand can't hold a pair of chopsticks doesn't mean it can't punch your lights out. Comprende?" I growled out, balling up said fist in front of me as I threatened the laughing boy.

"Here, Friday," Botan held up another noodle. Admittedly, I was hungry, so I settled down and allowed her to help me eat.

"Mommy, what are those two old ladies doing?" a small boy's voice asked, catching my ear as Yusuke's laughter died down.

Old... lady. My eye twitched.

"Don't stare, son. There are those types too," the boy's mother scolded.

Did she think this was some kind of romantic gesture and Botan was my... that I was a...

My face burned bright red, heating up at the insinuation. For a second, a mortified expression took over my face.

My stomach growled at me. "Ah, whatever. I don't give a flying damn," I grumbled under my breath, and continued eating my noodles off the end of Botan's chopsticks.

.

.

.

It was eerily silent in that dark place. Sleek, black tiles seemed to stretch on forever in all directions, though they led nowhere. In the distance, crooked and broken pillars rose from out of the gloom, holding testament to a splendor long since past.

The man sat perfectly still, back erect, steady hands poised on the exact center point where his legs crossed beneath him. With icy blue eyes devoid of emotion, he stared straight ahead over a glassy, black surface of a pool of water as still as a corpse that stretched out before him; not a single ripple disturbed its surface. A long, thin sword was laid horizontally before him, its silver metal gleaming dully in the murky light.

Behind the man a void appeared, snapping to life in the middle of that dead place.

"Koa!" snarled the man who shot out from it, yellow eyes flashing dangerously, "I warned you that girl is mine!" A vein protruded in anger from his forehead as he stormed over toward the serenely seated figure.

Koa's lids slid closed and he slowly released a breath. The ice-blue eyes opened, though the seated man remained gazing still over the surface of the glassy lake.

"Tell me, is that how one commanding officer should really address the other?" his voice was as calm as the water before him and just as smooth.

Rikyu growled and reached down to grip Koa's bare shoulder in an attempt to turn him around: "She will come to me in one piece. Do not draw your sword against her again."

The commanding officer simply brushed his hand away and remained exactly where he was.

"I will not seek your woman, but understand that I will not hesitate if she gets in my way," his chilly words caused Rikyu's jaw to clench, and his yellow eyes to narrow.

"Keh," the irritated sound escaped his lips.

"If you are so determined to keep the girl, perhaps you should focus your energy on subduing her," Koa suggested in an unconcerned tone even as he delivered a warning, "Before the moon wanes on your favor..."

Rikyu straightened and turned away. His shoulders tensed menacingly, he disappeared into the distant gloom, stalking across the cold, black tiles with bare feet.

Koa was left alone with his thoughts and the silent water that stretched before him.

.

.

.

I flexed my hand in front of me. Surprisingly, it felt perfectly fine even after a full day spent training with the Boss.

"Hey, are you gonna be alright if we split up tonight?" Yusuke asked, eyeing my hand, his own shoved deep in his pockets.

"Yeah, I think so," I murmured and looked up with what I hoped was a reassuring smile.

"Then Friday and I will take this route," Hati announced, stepping forward.

"Agreed," I affirmed and turned to follow him.

"Right, see you in a few," Yusuke waved his hand lazily as he started to walk away, "Don't let any Nightmare's get - - "

An ear-piercing shriek split the air, and as one, our heads snapped toward the source.

Whatever that was, it didn't sound good. Too bad Botan wasn't here with her energy detector. Guess that left just one way to find out...

I glanced down at Hati and he nodded up at me. We took off running, the Reikai Tantei following close behind.

The loud cries led us straight to the problem. My feet skid to a halt.

A swing creaked slowly in the middle of a deserted playground. Nearby, a hysterical woman shouted horsely upward, clutching her hair as she paced.

And in the sky above, who else should be present but Rikyu, hovering with a small child in his arms.

He looked down on the frantic mother with a lazy stare, seeming bored with the whole operation, but as soon as his piercing yellow eyes met mine, he grinned. _Why don't you just try and stop me now?_ his eyes seemed to taunt.

A dark portal opened behind him, and he fell backward into it; both him and the child were swallowed up in the darkness.

The portal remained open.

.

**AN: First of all, apologies in advance for that day in the future when I'm not able to post on Friday. You may check my profile for story status, if you're dying to know what the holdup is, expected posting date, and so on. I'll put it at the top. **

**I have to confess, I'm very busy, but I do have minimal free time. I try to motivate myself to work on the story, but while it can be stress-relieving, it's still very draining to try to synthesize such a long story and keep it coherent (especially with my crappy memory, I have to go back and look up a lot of things). So mostly my free time is currently spent watching Naruto Shippuden (ehehe. sorry, guys) when my brain finally calls it quits. I never got to finish NS, so I'm trying now. But seriously, the fight scenes go on forever. Only in NS does 3 minutes = 30 minutes. Blah. It's still interesting, though. **

I still have a deviantart account where I will be posting some pictures of characters, etc... to go with this story. Check it out if you want. I'm **theanonymouspen . deviantart . com** (no spaces)

**Another Update:** Koa is now on deviantart! (Yay)

Thank you for reading :)

**Preview: The next chapter isn't written at all! (Urk) But I know what it's about and it'll be awesome, I promise. (You know it will be)**

**Please REVIEW!**


	36. Baiting

**Sniffles. Where's my love, peeps? I wrote a chapter for you, see? Reviews pweese. Pretty pweese? With puppy dog eyes? O.O**

**For those of you that did review... Thanks a bunch :D Have a cupcake. **

**_btSMTMSJ:_**** I hope the chapters continue being awesome :]**

**_Puppylove7:_**** Aww... dedicated reader. Waiting for updates. :3 Muahaha. And yes, Botan feeding Friday was fun to write. Poor characters. I just love to embarrass them so...**

**_Angel of Randomosity:_**** Rikyu needs to work on his people skills. But his intentions are pure... er... sort of. And Kurama ****_was_**** being relatively nice :) The fangirl in me would have loved to have ****_him_**** feed Friday, but... meh... too ooc. Sadly. Missed opportunities are everywhere. Le sigh. **

**_. . ._**

**_"A_**_ll men dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds, wake in the day to find that it was vanity; but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act on their dreams with open eyes, to make them possible_**_." - - T. E. Lawrence_**

**_. . ._**

The girl started forward after Rikyu.

"Wait," the wolf stopped her with an authoritative tone of voice.

"What do you mean, wait?" she snapped angrily over her shoulder at him.

"It's too dangerous to fight a commander on his territory. Wait here, and we will think of a plan," he reasoned.

She growled: "We don't have time to wait!"

"We certainly don't have time for you to get yourself killed, either," the wolf reprimanded.

Her jaw clenched, and her eyes flashed angrily.

My green eyes darted across the space between them, feeling the tension that coiled through her muscles. The girl looked poised to strike; perhaps we should just send her through the portal.

"If I'm stuck here, I fight until I'm dead. If I'm stuck there, I fight until I'm dead. It doesn't make much difference to me," the girl spat out, "But for your sake, I suppose I could always beat the bastard senseless until he opens up a portal and sends me back."

They stared each other down.

"You are _not_ going, and that's final!" Hati growled back, raising his voice.

The girl tossed her head, the irritation that welled up insider her manifesting itself.

Her arm flung out, gesturing toward the frantic woman. "Can't you hear her screaming?" she cried out, as if the very sound of the woman's anguish was unbearable.

And it truly almost was. The mother's hysterical sobbing and raw screams tore at my ears painfully.

If my own mother...

"You. Will. Stay. Put," Hati commanded.

The Sleeper growled, her head whipping around to face the writhing dark mass of the portal.

Hati moved toward the distraught woman, trying to get her under control. Reluctantly, I made to assist him, tearing my eyes away from the girl, whose back was tight with silent fury.

"Of course, we will have to clear her memory of the unnatural things she has seen tonight," Hati was in the process of telling Hiei.

The woman was too shaken to even notice or care that an animal was speaking, much less the topic of his conversation.

The fire apparition's lip curled in disdain at the task. He really hated such work, and certainly felt he had had enough of it while working on the border patrol whose duty he had finally been released from.

"Kurama," the wolf addressed me.

"Hai," I acknowledged, studying the mother who was collapsed hopelessly on the ground before us, still screaming and writhing and pulling out her hair.

"I believe a sedative is in order. If I'm correct, that would be your area of expertise," the wolf continued, looking down his long nose at her.

I sighed, "I will see what I can do."

Hati turned to the other members of the Reikai Tantei.

I looked back at the girl.

She stood facing the portal, eyeing it levelly, calmly. At first glance, she appeared to have settled down, but her hands clenched into fists at her sides betrayed her.

The girl's face was a flawless mask of emotionless calm.

This did not bode well.

She closed her eyes and exhaled a deep, shuttering breath.

Her eyelids snapped open and she bolted suddenly, feet flying across the pavement toward the yawning black maw of the portal.

"Friday!" Hati bellowed as his head jerked around at break-neck speed toward the Sleeper.

The wolf shot after her, mouth open, teeth bared. His claws tore at the concrete, devouring the ground between them.

I watched, unable to do anything but stare, unsure whether the girl's actions were actually surprising, or exactly what I would have expected from her.

"_Friday!_ Stop!" the wolf howled furiously.

The girl pushed off the ground.

He lunged, teeth closing with a final-sounding snap.

.

.

.

The anger that pounded through my veins settled as I stared blankly into the dark portal.

Watching it like this, it almost seemed to breathe, like the darkness itself was alive.

The furious beating of my heart slowly calmed, and I stared levelly into the murky depths of the gateway to another dimension that had been placed before me just to tempt me.

What did I want?

This anger that filled me, what was it all for? Why couldn't I unclench my hands from the fists they had formed at my sides, with white knuckles and fingernails that left indentations on my palms?

I wanted to protect them, I said.

I wanted to protect them all... and yet...

When it came down to it, I just couldn't find the strength within myself that I had once had.

Maybe I had never had it at all.

Maybe it wasn't supposed to be me.

Maybe I wasn't supposed to save them.

And lately, a dark thought had been creeping at the back of my mind, my own words earlier forcing me to confront it... finally.

I hadn't lied when I had told Hati that the choice wasn't a choice of living or dying. How was one insignificant girl supposed to take this on all by herself?

They talked about defeating these powerful enemies of ours like it was something that would happen at no cost if we worked hard enough. Like we would all come out alive.

What a joke.

When I thought about it, the notion seemed so naive it was laughable: to gain so much while sacrificing so little.

But since my first meeting with the dream goddess, a terrifying realization had grown in me.

She said I had been chosen, but why me? The thought had gnawed on me continuously ever since, eating me away from the inside.

Perhaps I hadn't been chosen because I was unique, because I could save the world and live to tell the tale.

Perhaps I had been chosen because I wasn't afraid to offer up my life in exchange for theirs.

Because I wasn't afraid to die.

True, even just one life in exchange for so many still seemed too naive, but it was the best I could do on my own.

So you see, the choice I was faced with wasn't living or dying, but choosing where and how I wanted to die.

And that was what I had lost sight of.

That was why I had become weak, why I had become lightless.

I used to be so confident, so sure of my desires. But now it felt like all I had were doubts.

You can't give your life up for doubts.

No, this world was more important than just one person.

Why should I fear?

Why should I worry about getting injured? Dying?

Why should I worry? I had already decided that I wouldn't go without finishing this.

And that's exactly what I was going to do.

All that I had to do now was take the first step.

I closed my eyes and exhaled, re-centering myself back on the path that I had lost sight of for too long.

That's right. There was a path laid here before me all along. Now all I had to do was run forward.

My eyes opened, gaze locked on my goal.

I took the first step.

Gaining momentum, my feet pounded the few short steps across the concrete toward the gaping hole in the night sky.

Hati called my name, but I heard it as if from a great distance. What did it matter? No one was going to stop me now.

_Run forward._

He shouted out again.

_Never stop. _

I was so close. Pushing myself off the ground, I aimed straight for the center of the portal.

_Never look back._

The sound of teeth snapping shut at my heels followed me as I was engulfed in the darkness.

.

.

.

Rikyu sat on the smooth, black tiles and waited, silent as a spider for its unlucky fly, arms encircling his small hostage in an unbreakable prison.

She would come. Oh, she wouldn't come for his sake - - at least, not yet. So for now he would have to compensate. But no matter. Rikyu readjusted his grip.

His Sleeper would come for him eventually.

Rikyu smiled. He had, of course, taken measures to ensure that they wouldn't be interrupted this time. That irritating wolf was with them, and he would undoubtably stop the others from coming.

Ah, yes, that wolf should remember all too well the folly of fighting in enemy territory. After all, he bore a constant reminder on his face. The commander's grin twisted. In his arms, the terrified child whimpered, but Rikyu didn't notice.

Soon it would be just him and his Sleeper. This worked out well for Rikyu.

He chuckled darkly.

Chomp.

A set of unexpectedly sharp teeth left indentations in his spotless, white gloves. The laughter died abruptly.

Rikyu's eyebrows knit together and he looked down at his hostage with a frown.

The small child glared up at him with clenched teeth, the remains of terrified tears still clinging to accusing, brown eyes. A girl? His frown became pensive... now that he thought of it, those eyes really did look like the eyes of another girl. One he was positive would soon be glaring at him in the same accusatory manner.

What a strange human offspring. Her shoulder-length white hair, he realized, which would have been of no particular manner of interest where he came from, was strange for the standards of the human population that dominated this area.

What an inconvenient hostage he had picked up. He made a mental note that whelps like these were too troublesome to bother with again.

"Oi," he frowned deeper, preparing to deliver a warning.

"Rikyu!" the enraged shout ripped violently through the dark space between them.

Ah. She was here. His Sleeper sounded just as angry as he had imagined, but at least it was his name that stretched across her lips.

Rikyu looked up, meeting her furious brown eyes, and smiled.

.

.

.

I charged straight ahead, keeping Rikyu locked in my sights.

He stood, and the small child slid out of his grasp to shiver by his feet, which were planted firmly on the tile.

With a gesture, a tide of Nightmares rushed toward me, breaking like a pitch-black wave before me.

I howled out, the raw determination tearing the sound from my lungs. I refused to be stopped. I refused to let them slow me down.

Raising my fist before me, the light engulfed it like a blue-white flame, rushing up my arm and spreading until it encompassed my whole body.

I continued to run, pushing through the Nightmares as though they didn't exist, blowing them away with the concentrated force of my light.

My eyes remained locked on his yellow ones as I closed the distance between us. I felt a tingling as the light poured forth from my gaze.

With a growl, I put on a burst of speed at the end and threw myself forward. Catching the commander off guard with my timing, my fist made contact with his cheek, and he was thrown backward, bare feet skidding across the smooth floor.

Rikyu was sent into a tumble that ended with him crumpled on the cold, hard ground.

I halted where I was and stood, panting. Hearing a gasp, my eyes finally broke free from his still form and I looked down.

The small child - - a girl, I realized with surprise - - looked up at me from where she was quivering on the floor, eyes wide and horrified.

"Are you hurt?" I asked her, voice coming out a little harsher than I had intended.

She whimpered and cringed away.

I could still feel the light burning out from my eyes.

Oh. The person she was afraid of... was me? I have to admit, it stung a bit. I was supposed to be her savior. Hadn't I just made my mind up to protect her life even at the cost of my own?

"Whatever," I said gruffly when she still didn't answer, "Run along home to mommy. I don't have time to deal with you right now, anyway..."

The girl scrambled, nearly losing her footing as she tore away toward the pinprick of light that marked the portal's opening on this side.

A deep chuckle emanated from the unmoving mass of fabric that was Rikyu.

Slowly, he unfolded, pushing himself up on straining arms, "That _hurt_," he said, sounding altogether too pleased.

"Why don't you wipe that smug smile off your face and get back over here. I still have a thing or two that my fists would like to say to you," I told him in a low tone, my eyes flashing dangerously with white-hot light.

.

.

.

"It's alright, Hati," Kuwabara tried to reassure the pacing wolf in a loudly confident tone, "If the portal closes on her, I still have my dimension sword! We'll just bust it open and get Friday out of there."

"You do not understand!" the wolf snapped, growling, "It isn't simply about having a portal opening. She should never have tried to fight him in his own dimension. That's playing right into his hands."

Hati stopped pacing and stood gazing up into the portal with a dark look, "I'm afraid she may not have the strength to face him on his playing field... and win."

The rest was left unspoken.

As one, we stared solemnly up into the dark void.

.

.

.

What was this feeling? This light that welled up inside me, escalating with my growing anger.

Feeling like it had a life of its own, it pushed back at the darkness violently.

Twisting and flipping easily, I dodged the short blade that was aimed at me. The movement was automatic now, almost as natural as breathing.

My body felt strange, like I wasn't the only thing in it anymore.

I hesitated, considering pulling back.

But then I remembered my promise. I couldn't stop now. Resolved, I jumped headfirst into the growing light.

It was blinding, but strangely, it felt like for the first time, I could finally see.

Rikyu's attacks didn't hit me. I let him close the distance and dodged the point of the sharp blade that was thrust my direction.

Stretching out my arm, the light took form, racing across my bones, through my tendons and down my fingers. It shot out from my fingertips and kept going, the four beams of light forming long, spear-like claws, thin and dangerous as they pierced Rikyu's shoulder.

Neither of us had seen that one coming.

Still, I planned on using my new weapon to my full advantage.

And yet a small voice inside my head whispered that it was the one using me.

.

.

.

The child and her mother were long since gone, and those of us who remained at the site were left to wait, with nothing but a yawning black void to inform us of the battle's progress.

Just when we were getting worried enough to seriously contemplate going in after the girl, the sounds of a struggle reached us from beyond the portal.

"Let go!" Rikyu's voice commanded roughly.

A growl and more sounds indicative of a fight followed. The ringing of clashing metal met my ears.

"Sorry, but I refuse to be taken in to spirit world... even if it is at your hands," he shouted, the tension in his voice tangible.

There was a grunt and suddenly the Sleeper was flung from the portal. She was sent flying a good distance back, but caught herself in a crouch, booted feet grinding to a halt as her hand came down on the pavement.

The scent of blood hit my nose sharply and I took notice of a deep gash that had opened on her shoulder and was now pooling crimson down her arm.

The fingertips of her other hand were shining with a bright light. Her head snapped up, revealing glowing eyes.

Rikyu's portal began to close.

"No!" she growled out, rushing forward.

She wouldn't make it in time.

The girl lunged to a crouch, as the lights on her fingertips extended in beams that looked lethal.

The tips of these elongated claws of light barely made it through the shrinking void of darkness.

A thick splash of blood flew out, hitting the pavement.

The portal sealed shut and the beams of light, now cut off, dissipated.

How badly had she managed to wound him?

Hati stalked up behind the girl, intent to chew her out written in every angry line of his tensed body.

Feeling the threat behind her, the Sleeper whipped around, solid shafts of blue-white light instantaneously reappearing from her fingertips as she swung her arm in an arc.

She growled ferally.

Her glowing eyes went wide and her clenched jaw slackened as she registered the wolf standing vulnerable before her.

Freezing in place, the light melted away, fading from her half-crazed eyes even as the beams from her fingertips liquefied, dripping away to dissolve in mid-air.

She breathed heavily, staring into silver eyes as wide as her own.

"You startled me," she said in a surprisingly rough voice, dropping back onto her rear heavily, supporting herself from falling over with her hands.

She slumped in on herself.

"You should know better than to do something like that, Hati..." she told him, voice still strained as she tried to catch her breath.

The girl tilted her head back, letting it loll off her shoulders.

She stared up at the sky as the rising and falling of her chest slowly returned to normal.

We watched her in silence, unsure what to say. It seemed that her powers had finally begun to manifest themselves... again. Hopefully this time it would last.

Claws... huh. It seemed the girl would never get over her affinity for ripping things apart with her bare hands. Even when she finally developed a weapon, it was one that gave the same, raw feeling.

I hadn't missed the look in her eyes. That girl... was a predator.

Perhaps, though, she could be useful.

I eyed her warily, wondering what hidden powers of hers would manifest themselves next.

"Isn't it strange, that with all of this..." the girl spoke quietly into the silence, "You can still see the stars?"

With raised eyebrows, I tilted my head up to examine the night sky. Even more surprising than her comment was the fact that what she had said was true. Funny, it had never occurred to me to take the time to look at something like that.

After all, the stars had nothing to do with the battles we fought down here. They would look down on us just the same.

So why was it strange to see them shining so brightly?

The girl stood, looking like her normal self again, if more tired than usual.

And with that, Hati's inhibitions were broken: "What did you think you were doing?" he growled out, moving to block her path.

"I know what I'm supposed to be doing," she responded calmly, "It's my duty to protect them, right?"

"You can't protect anyone if you don't protect yourself first," he seethed, the fur on the scruff of his neck bristling.

"No... That's not how it works," the girl replied with a tone of quiet certainty, looking back up into the deep blue canvas of the night sky, "You can't gain anything if you're afraid to lose yourself."

A surprised silence fell over our small group. The words were so simple, yet so profound. I felt my brow crease in thought.

"Well, I believe it's time to call it a night," the girl... no, Friday... said as she turned away, stretching her arms behind her head.

"A-ah..." Hati muttered, stunned, and trotted to catch up to her. He cleared his throat: "You should get that shoulder looked at as soon as possible."

"Worrywart," she teased.

"I wouldn't have to worry if you weren't going and getting yourself stabbed all the time. You're giving me grey hairs," the wolf retorted, sticking his nose in the air.

"Yeah. They're _real_ noticeable," she said with a sarcastic smirk.

The wolf harrumphed and cut her off, disappearing into the Reikai-sent portal before his Sleeper.

The others soon followed.

I remained. My chin on my hand, I lost myself in thought. Jade green eyes narrowed as I retreated further into my mind.

That girl... Friday...

"Kurama," the fire apparition's sharp voice cut into my musings.

I looked up and he stared blankly back at me with a raised eyebrow, poised to enter the portal.

"Hurry up before we leave you behind," he said with a small smirk, and jumped in.

.

**AN: Err... yay! She has powers again (finally). Just thought I'd point out that whenever the commanders are in their dimension, they can't float. That's just the way it goes. Maybe you've noticed?**

**And though that isn't the first time Kurama has thought of her by her name (though it has been quite a while), it is the first time he's consciously thought of her as "Friday." Respect-O-meter. Lol. It's rising. **

I still have a deviantart account where I will be posting some pictures of characters, etc... to go with this story. Check it out if you want. I'm **theanonymouspen . deviantart . com** (no spaces)

It feels like I'm **updating** all the time**:** There's something new on my deviantart. What was it again? Meh... A picture of Friday, I think. (Brain. Not. Functioning... X.X) Actually, I like that one. It's a wallpaper.

Thank you for reading :)

**Preview: Writing one chapter at a time... Err... I think the next one will have some Shimabukuro possibly? Probably?**

**Please REVIEW! (So that you and I both can find out what's in the next chapter...)**


	37. Snowman

**Eehe. Sorry I'm a bit late guys. I was thinking I'd post on Friday, but it's nearly Saturday now. I'm barely scraping the edge here. I don't like to post right after I finish writing, because I almost always find little things to tweak, but... meh. I've read it a couple times and I can't think of anything, so here you go... Voila. **

**(Oh, and hopefully next week I won't be late, because I'm planning on writing more this weekend while I have time. Look forward to it.)**

**_blackheart2071:_ Glad you love it and thanks for being persistent in finding me on Deviantart!**

**_mezvers:_ That's the plan... get you in here and get you hooked ;] But seriously, I'm glad you enjoy her powers. Friday isn't just a one-trick pony. **

**_btSMTMSJ:_ Here is more! (Sorry it's late :P)**

**_Puppylove7:_ Personally, I also like Friday the predator, but for Friday it may not be such a good thing... We shall see. I'm also really having fun developing Kurama and Friday's relationship, starting with cultivating his respect. Muahaha. And your Shima x Friday is coming right up. **

**_Angel of Randomosity:_ Awesome Friday is awesome. And yes, she does love to use her hands... personal touch, you know... Lol. Hati and Friday are interesting... they get into all sorts of weird trouble together. Very volatile. Poor Rikyu is just so unloved! Sniffles. He just doesn't know how to express himself, okay? Just kidding. (Though it's kind of true) *Pats him on the head* There, there. I will love you if no one else will. My goal is kind of to convert everyone like I did with Hati. MUAHAHA! I do enjoy doing that. :D Just you wait, missy. And glad I could relieve your stressful week! **

**_Guest:_ Intense is Friday's middle name. Sorta... I did get some free time, but there was too much stuff to do with it T.T Here's a (late) update anyway. **

**_mrsbeggins:_ I don't want to make you sad, so here's another update! Enjoy!**

_**. . .**_

"_**L**ife is not lost by dying; life is lost minute by minute, day by dragging day, in all the thousand small uncaring ways**." - - Stephen Vincent Benet**_

_**. . .**_

_Ever since coming here, I've felt… unstable. Like there's another face that sits inside me. One that's consumed with hate and loathing. Behind bars, it waits… and watches. From time to time, this face I wear returns to look in on the other, see how it's progressing. It's always growing nicely. _

_Patiently biding its time until that moment when this face cracks. Then, it will emerge…_

My eyes fluttered open, bringing an end to my idle musings.

I raised my hand in front of my face, flexing my fingers as I stared through them. It was hard to imagine that just a few days ago, those fingers had deadly weapons coming off their ends.

Shuddering slightly as I let my hand drop, I remembered that feeling of losing control, sinking into the animal within me. That other face that ran on instinct alone.

But I didn't want to think about it anymore. Couldn't think about it anymore. Whenever I got close to that feeling, it left my mind feeling clouded until I didn't even know what to believe anymore... what to feel.

I sighed and searched for patterns in the grain of the ceiling, imagining that Dale was laying right beside me on this low mattress of mine, searching too.

Was there no train of thought that wasn't so depressing?

Slowly, night fell, cutting off the light that seeped in through my windows. But the lack of light didn't bother me. I could still see just fine in the darkness.

A bird chirped sleepily outside, saying its farewells to the day as it settled down in its nest.

Well, then. I supposed it was almost time.

Sitting up, I stretched out my arms and stood. My day was just beginning.

I smiled. Today, I had vowed to have nothing to do with the Nightmares. After all, I'd worked hard enough the past few days to deserve a day off. I doubted there were still any Nightmares around _to_ fight.

And that damned Rikyu hadn't shown his face since our last eventful encounter. I wondered how badly I had hurt him. I hoped it was at least deep, if not fatal. Preferably in a vital organ, though I doubted even that would keep him down for long, much less actually finish him off. Intolerable bastard, using a child like that.

Pulling my baggy workout shirt over my head, I tossed it to the floor where it found its home with the other dirty clothes.

I rifled through my closet. What to wear... hmm...

That grey knit sweater looked warm. I pulled it out. The neckline was somewhat decorative. It would probably look nice on me. At least Botan had some foresight, even if I didn't. I mentally thanked her again for stocking my wardrobe.

I tugged it into place, realizing that it left my shoulders bare. They would probably get cold. I dug deeper into my closet, looking for something to cover up with. A rust-colored scarf caught my eye.

For a moment, I held it, indecisive.

I spotted a small bag. It wasn't quite a backpack, but I could carry it on my back. It would do.

Dragging it out, I stuffed the scarf inside.

I glanced down and decided to stick with my jeans.

My feet were still bare.

A pair of heels dangled temptingly from a rack in the front of my closet. Should I?

Heels weren't something I was normally too fond of, but just for today, maybe...

I fished them out with a finger and placed them inside the bag, too.

On my way out the door, I shoved my feet into some calf-high white boots, my temporary footwear.

Looking back as I shut the door, I spotted my communicator sitting on the windowsill. I really should take it with me. Sighing, I returned for it.

My eyes fell on the half-used roll of masking tape that sat beside it, and my lips curved up in a faraway smile. I picked it up delicately, twisting it around in my fingers. I didn't know why, but I felt as though I couldn't leave it behind.

I secured it in a zippered pouch deep inside the bag, tossing the communicator in alongside it.

Shoving the bag onto my back, I made my way quietly down the dark corridor toward the front of Genkai's temple.

Stepping out into the entry room, I shrunk back immediately, pulling my foot out of the light. I held my breath.

What was Hati doing here so early? My eyebrows knit together.

He would never let me go out and ditch a mission if he caught me. I worried my lip.

I shuffled out slowly. Well, I'd just have to be very, very quie - -

CREEEEAAAAK.

Damn. Stupid wood floors.

Hati's ears swiveled toward the sound, and he turned his head.

"Ah. There you are, Fri - - "

Taking a different approach, I broke out into a run, escape my only thought.

"Hey!" he barked out, giving chase.

I paused to shove the door open. The wolf landed on my back, hard, knocking me to the ground.

"What are you doing?" he demanded loudly, nails pressing into my shoulder blades.

But as I hit the ground, the contents of my bag were jostled. The pair of heels flew out over my head.

Hati gasped and began suspiciously, "Are those - - ?"

I shook him off with brute strength, jumping up, and made a flying leap off the deck, ignoring the stairs completely.

I leapt onto the banister that sloped down the temple's long flight of grueling stairs and rode it down.

As I went, I flew past the boys, seeing their surprised faces so briefly that they felt like mere snapshots as I passed.

I hit the bottom and jumped lithely off, continuing my flat-out run.

"Somebody catch her!" Hati barked from the top of the stairs.

I didn't stick around to see whether they obliged.

And as I ran, I smiled, shifting the bag slightly on my back. It felt a lot lighter without the heels.

The roll of tape clinked against my communicator.

Shimabukuro...

I thought back to earlier that day:

"_Oi," he got my attention. _

"_Hm?" I replied, turning my head toward him. _

_His cheeks puffed up. "Well," he began, scratching his head as he averted his eyes, "You should come with me tonight. There's something I think you'd like to see."_

"_Gomen," I apologized, "I would love to, but I don't think I can go out after dark. Can't you show me some other time?" _

"_Mmm..." he crossed his arms as he thought. Finally, he shook his head, "You can only see it at night." He blew out an exasperated breath, "Just say you'll come with me, already."_

_I laughed. "Fine, fine. I'll come," I consented. _

"_Then, I'll meet you in the city. How does an hour after sundown sound?"_

"_Perfect," I said. _

I ducked under a tree branch as I ran.

It wasn't that I didn't take my job as head Sleeper seriously, but... well, I felt like lately I'd been taking it a little _too_ seriously. Until all I could think about were the Nightmares, and I felt myself slowly slipping...

And, well, I'd already seen what could happen then. I shuddered, though it had nothing to do with the cold.

Sometimes, I felt that I just needed to get away from it all...

A black figure stood in my path.

I skidded to a halt and stared the figure down.

"Hiei..." I said after a moment, warningly.

He didn't move a muscle, just stood there with his arms crossed, staring levelly at me.

I sighed.

I knew if he wanted to stop me, there was no way I was getting out of here tonight.

My voice became pleading, perhaps a little more than I was proud to admit: "Just let me go. Don't you see? Those moments now are the only times I feel _normal._"

The silence stretched between us, I mumbled dejectedly "Although... I would understand if you don't get why that's so important to me."

He was a fire apparition, after all. A powerful one. And he reveled in his power. How could he understand the need us humans had to feel normal... if only every once in a while. To feel like we belonged.

There was certainly no point in unloading my feelings on him. It wouldn't help my cause, and in fact was rather likely to do just the opposite. Superfluous emotions weren't really Hiei's forte.

I sighed again, and felt my shoulders slump.

Sorry, Shimabukuro. I guess I'm not going anywhere tonight.

"Well, it's inconvenient, but it doesn't seem like there are many Nightmares out there tonight. We won't miss you," he spoke sharply.

I looked up, eyebrows climbing in surprise. Hiei was now reclining lazily against a tree, arms still crossed.

He tilted his head, meeting my eyes with cold crimson ones, "After all, don't think that just because you're the only Sleeper we have, we can't manage fine without you. In fact, such low-class creatures will hardly make us break a sweat. It's a pity this mission has to be so _dull_." And beneath his eyes' cold exterior, there was something shining. Something that looked like mirth.

I blinked. He was giving me... permission?

Grabbing the straps of my bag, I shifted its weight on my back and nodded.

"Wait," a voice said, stopping me in my tracks, as another revealed himself from his place in the shadows of the forest.

As the redhead walked out from the cover of the trees, I frowned.

How long had he been listening? Discomfort channeled to annoyance.

"If you're going to say something to try and stop me, you should just sav - - " I began my retort, eyebrows shifting downward as he walked toward me.

"You dropped your scarf, Miss Kuronosuke," he said lightly, as if he had been used to saying my name all along.

I was so stunned that I couldn't think of a single thing to say. So I just stared numbly as he lifted his arms to lightly drape the scarf around my neck.

Looking down as the folds of the warm, rust-colored fabric fell into their natural folds around my neck, I wondered when I had even dropped it. It must have happened when that wolf tackled me to the ground...

That wolf!

My head jerked up, and I scooted away, navigating my way around those two.

"Ah... Th-thanks," I shot back at them as I shuffled hurriedly backwards, then turned and began my run to catch the bus into town.

Yusuke caught up to me while I was stuck waiting at the bus stop.

"Hati said you're going on a date," he said with a cocky smirk as he leaned against the posts of the metal awning.

"Oh. Hey, Yusuke," he had startled me, "Well, I don't know if you could call it a date, exactly..." I pondered with my chin on my hand.

"What the hell. Where's the fun in that?" he grumbled, not understanding.

"Wondering is much more fun than knowing, Yusuke," I told the engaged boy, flashing him a wide smile.

"Whatever," he grumbled, twisting a finger in his ear.

I snorted and just climbed onto the bus that pulled up in front of me.

At that moment, Hati came tearing down the mountain, the other three boys following right behind, though none of them seemed quite as enthusiastic as the wolf.

I told the unfamiliar bus driver to step on it, and leaned out the door, waving goodbye and laughing.

The boys stopped running once they reached Yusuke, standing around with their hands in their pockets for the most part. Hati kept running, chasing the bus like a dog would chase cars.

I started to retreat inside. "Oh," a thought struck me as the bus picked up speed. I leaned further out the open doorway, "Don't tell Botan, will you?" I called back my request, cupping a hand around my mouth.

Yusuke gave me a thumbs up and winked.

"Would somebody please explain..." Kuwabara panted, hands on knees, "What the _heck_ is going on?"

I chuckled, taking a seat on the empty bus. Dropping my bag on the floor, I sprawled out. It was warm inside.

Tugging the scarf off gently, I let it sit for a moment in my hands, then folded it up carefully and placed it in the bag.

That guy... I would never understand him.

I let my head drop back onto the top of the seat behind me.

.

.

.

"What game are you playing at, fox?" Hiei addressed me as the girl disappeared from sight, running down the hill to the bus stop.

"I'm afraid I don't understand what you're referring to," I replied, settling into a comfortable stance with my hands in my pockets.

"_Miss Kuronosuke_?" he scoffed.

"It's common courtesy to call one's teammates by their names, is it not, Hiei?" I replied easily.

He snorted in disbelief, but said no more. I could feel the sting of his crimson eyes examining me.

It was true, I still had my reservations about that girl... Friday. It was unlikely that I could bring myself to call her so familiarly any time soon, but "Miss Kuronosuke" was a decent start.

All predators deserve a proper name, after all. But a predator with both instinct and insight, well...

I will admit that Friday was more than she, at first, seemed. I couldn't keep calling her "the girl" forever.

Footsteps pounded into the clearing.

"Why are the two of you just standing there?" Hati demanded, Kuwabara following close on his heels, "She must have come this way."

We didn't answer.

"Well, whatever. Come along," Hati huffed and sniffed her scent out down the hill.

With a reserved sigh, I followed, Hiei running easily beside me.

If the fire apparition had anything else to say, the opportunity had already passed.

.

.

.

"Can I look yet?" I grumbled, impatient with the hands over my eyes. I hated feeling like I couldn't see my surroundings.

"We're here," Shimabukuro said, dropping his hands.

I gasped.

The lights were so beautiful. Lanterns gleamed their warm colors in a multitude of strands that continued all the way to the end of the long walkway. Beyond the place where the street ended rose the skyline, tall buildings with gleaming squares of light rising into the darkness. And far above, the stars shone dimly, dusting the place with a cool light.

On either side of the path were situated quaint little vendors' stalls, selling everything from food to perfume. Jewelry gleamed in the lantern's light and to the right a splashing sound caught my attention.

A child laughed, clapping his hands as he celebrated his aim. The vendor fished the ping pong ball out of the top of a bowl and handed the fish inside over to the small boy, who grinned.

The atmosphere was nice here. It almost felt like stepping into another place, one that I had been to long ago, when I was still a child. A magical place. It felt like any number of good things could happen here.

Turning to Shimabukuro, I smiled.

"Do you like it?" he asked tentatively, brow crinkling with worry or one of its derivatives.

I laughed and spun around, flinging my arms out in a wide circle. Breathing in the air filled with so many intriguing scents, I grinned, feeling free. I stretched up into the night sky, almost believing that I could take flight.

"Like it? I love it," I reached out, grabbing his hand and pulling him along behind me down the street, "Let's go!"

I flashed him a smile, and noticed the faint blush that stained his cheeks as he stared fixedly down at our clasped hands.

.

.

.

"You're distracted, Kurama," Hiei addressed me suspiciously as he wiped the blood of a Nightmare from his blade.

I hummed noncommittally. It would do no good to admit that Friday was the one occupying my mind, though Hiei didn't need me to tell him such a thing. It was obvious enough to the quick-eyed Jagan master - - even without the use of his evil eye.

And if it would do no good to admit she was the one on my mind, then it would certainly be even worse to admit exactly what she had me thinking about.

In a word: romance. Such a strange phenomenon. Purely human, as far as I had been able to discern in all my long years.

My brow furrowed speculatively.

It was true, I had tried my best to live as an ordinary human male these past few years. At the time, I thought I had been doing a fairly decent job.

But all the things I had observed in the girl, Friday, made me realize that I had never really been living as a human at all.

My brain simply didn't function like theirs did. Where they fell so easily into romance, I had never once felt such a stirring or inclination. Such a thing was nearly incomprehensible.

Even in all my years as Youko, I had never experienced romance. It simply wasn't something demons or spirit beings were prone to feeling.

Perhaps the closest I had come to encountering the human emotion was the bond I shared with my mother, though that could hardly be called "romance" in the human sense.

Although it was a wanton, unnecessary feeling that would make many a demon gag, the love that I felt for my mother was just that.

Demons build partnerships. They take what they can, when they can. If an alliance is valuable, it is maintained. If the partner starts to drain on you, you leave them behind. Or kill them. It all depends on what suits your fancy.

But human relationships... to value the person for their sake over yours...

That was something very few demons would ever have the chance to experience.

And apart from my mother, I was still one of them.

That love was vastly different from the romantic interest that I had watched turn Friday's head. And indeed, she looked happier than I could remember seeing her. Maybe that was the true power of love? Perhaps we had been underestimating the human emotion all along.

I restrained a sigh to avoid arousing Hiei's further suspicions and interrogation that were sure to follow.

It seemed like she was always making me see new things, forever opening my eyes.

The truth was disturbing. I had lived for so long that it no longer felt like I was truly alive. And then by looking at the vibrant way she lived, I would see my own life as a pale reflection, and suddenly realize that I had never seen the snow, or the stars... and that I had never had a romance of my own.

I supposed, no matter how I tried, I would never be a human. I would never be alive in that same way.

Human lives were so vivacious because they were short, after all, and I still had many years ahead of me if my natural life was left to run its course.

It seemed like there was nothing I could do to immerse myself in that life, despite the fact that someone so near was practically overflowing with it, threatening to drown out the rest of us with the boldness of her life. Hati had been right when he had said the light within her was like the sun. How could she really contain it all? It was impossible.

And all the while, she made me realize all the things I've never done.

It was ironic, really. And here I'd thought I'd never made a snowman.

.

.

.

It was rare that I didn't have at least some idea what the fox was thinking. Today, I knew it was the woman who was distracting him, but as to what was going on in his head...

His face was so smooth, so flat, that it didn't give away a single emotion, despite the wheels I could practically see turning in his emerald eyes.

"Hiei... what do you think of snowmen?" Kurama asked.

"What the hell is a snow man, Kurama?" I deadpanned. Perhaps I really had no idea what he was thinking, after all.

"The humans make them sometimes. They dress them up in different clothes to look like men and fix expressions on their face. But they aren't really human. How could they be when they're just made of snow?

"No matter what clothes they wear, or what kind of expressions are fixed on their face, in the end what's inside is nothing more than ice. Frozen and unfeeling until the sun comes out and melts them away," he smiled, but the expression looked stretched on his face.

With narrowed, crimson eyes, I scrutinized the fox.

A man of snow, huh...

.

.

.

Beneath the strings of hanging lanterns, a girl strolled down the street. She turned, walking backward, and clasped her hands behind her back as she addressed the ordinary human male accompanying her with a radiant smile.

He made some sort of retort, and she laughed, spinning back around to face forward.

The human boy stuck his hands in the pockets of the long, white jacket that he wore, and followed the girl.

As he came up alongside her, she caught him by the crook of his elbow and leaned her head against his arm contentedly.

Face heating, he looked down, but made no move to push her away.

And from the deep shadows in the canopy of a tree high above, the gleam of seething, yellow eyes narrowed.

Teeth clenched and a white-gloved hand dug into the rough bark of the tree, leaving deep gouges in its surface.

Bare feet rose, vanishing into the air, as the tree branch was left vacant once more.

.

**AN: Yes, Miss Kuronosuke is the equivalent of Kuronosuke-san, but I liked the way "Miss Kuronosuke" sounded coming from Kurama better, and I'm the author, so...**

**In case you guys didn't get the convoluted reference, Kurama is comparing himself to a snowman. Blah. I actually really liked the part where he's explaining a snowman to Hiei, not to toot my own horn. It wasn't originally in there, but I found this minuscule sentence of a note on one of my four confusingly jumbled stores of sixty page notes, and remembered it vaguely. Now it's my favorite part :]**

**And trouble is afoot... a bare foot! :O **

I still have a deviantart account where I will be posting some pictures of characters, etc... to go with this story. Check it out if you want. I'm **theanonymouspen . deviantart . com** (no spaces)

**Quasi-update:** I have posted a WIP of the market Shima x Friday scene. It's very large, though, so it's not done. :P

Thank you for reading :)

**Preview: Hmm... lesee. Looking at my notes... It appears that we're scheduled for a brief segment with Dale :D Also, there's a birthday and depending on how long the chapter gets, Rikyu may make an appearance. (See ominous foreshadowing above)**

**Please REVIEW! (I'm writing more, I promise! But the feedback is always appreciated.)**


	38. Roots

**Breathe, guys... no one's dying yet. **

**I love all you lovely reviewers, but these replies are getting pretty long :/ Would you guys rather I PMed the people who have their ff account instead? That way you'd get it faster. Of course, I would still reply to the anons, etc... here. Your choice. Just tack your preference onto your review. (Muahaha! A subtle attempt to get you to review... Drat. I've just ruined it, haven't I?)**

**Oh, and I've just noticed my story is part of a community now? What does that even mean? Something about OC x canon couples, which I thought was ironic since she just went on a date with another OC and I'm fairly certain was mortal enemies with Kurama at the time it was added...**

**Couple of things. I'm sure most of you know, but a _furisode_ is a fancy kimono. Also, the Coming of Age festival isn't on the 15th of January anymore, it's on the second Monday of January, but that was too complicated, so... 15th it is. **

**_Puppylove7:_ Yeah, Miss Kuronosuke sounded more like Kurama to me too. :) I debated whether Hiei should know what a snowman is, but decided that even though he's watched Yukina play before, Koorime don't really make them. Not to mention, he was banished from that snowy island when he was born. :/ So I'm glad you liked Kurama's explanation to Hiei. I'm also very happy that so many people like my Friday x Shima fluff. To be honest, in the beginning I worried about his acceptance. You know, with all the rabid Kura fans out there and such... *shifty eyes***

**_authorchik039:_ Wheeee. New reader/reviewer(?) :D Feel free to imagine me beaming all sparkly at you... Ahem. Anyway. Yes, yes he is. Poor Rikyu has so many feels! TT^TT**

**_Angel of Randomosity_: Oh, Kura. You're just a tangled mess inside. Someday, you will sort all your twisted feels out for yourself... someday. Yay! Love for Shima and Hati :D Somehow, that wolf is getting more humorous than I ever intended :P It's your influence, I swear, Miss caffeine and CAPS. Lol. **

**_Guest1:_Breathe. Relax. Breathe. Repeat. Read AN above. Better now? Good... Wow. I had no idea that my last chapter was such an emotional roller coaster, but I guess you're right. Haha. I'm super happy that you liked the snowman part. :} My brain ran away with me on that one, but I loved it so much that I had to let it be. I'll try my best to continue surprising you with original but realistic Kurama moments. And glad you like Shima x Friday :)**

**_Guest2:_ Your comment made me laugh so hard. (Actually, it's still making me laugh.) The reason you feel like Shima's in a lot of danger is probably because he has an angry, psychotic, jealous flying man stalking him from a tree (What _has_ this story come to? Am I even listening to myself here?) but don't worry. (Also, see above AN). I won't kill him off just to get him out of the picture. Besides, that's kind of a cop out.**

**_mrsbeggins:_ Muahaha. One addicted, the world to go... just kidding. But it does make me happy that you're finding it so awesome. :D**

**_FallenAngelX3:_ :D Eeeeee. Another new reader/reviewer? Two in one chapter makes me very happy :} Not to mention flattered. I'm glad you appreciate the titles. I really do think about (sometimes agonize over) a clever, one-word title, but I feel like sometimes people don't even notice the little tiny title stuffed up in the corner in size 10 font all by its lonesome :'( Glad you like Friday x Shima and Kurama's interactions as well :] **

_**. . .**_

"_**I**t is only rarely that one can see in a little boy the promise of a man, but one can almost always see in a little girl the threat of a woman**." - Alexandre Dumas**_

_**. . .**_

_They surrounded him, pushing him roughly to the ground. Sneering, they crowded around him. Those older boys could do what they liked; after all, they were in the first grade and he was only a kindergartener. How could he stand up to them?_

_He bawled. His knee hurt from where he'd scraped it falling. The tears only brought on more pushing and shoving. _

"_Hey, you! What are you doing to my little brother?" a loud voice rang out, and to him it was the voice of a guardian angel. _

_He looked up through eyes brimming with tears and sniffed. Standing in the fading sunlight that framed her from behind like her own, personal glow was a tiny girl with very blonde hair, only a second grader and considerably smaller than most of these first grade bullies. _

_But he wasn't worried. She was his sister. She could handle them. _

"_Do you want me to give you a black eye!?" the small girl smashed her fist into her hand threateningly, head held high and back erect. _

"_Ack. It's her. Run!" the group of boys scrambled, tripping over their own feet on their way out. _

"_Lets get out of here," their leader grumbled the order, but fled just the same. _

_With watery, brown eyes, the little boy peered up at her back. She had never actually hit anyone, as far as he knew, but she certainly knew how to talk big. They were all scared of her, at any rate. _

_Turning, the girl looked down at the small boy on the ground with determined brown eyes: "Stop crying. How do you ever expect to become a man when you act like such a crybaby all the time? Stand up for yourself. I won't always be here to do it for you, you know."_

_He sniffled, rubbing his eyes with tiny fists as his chin quivered from suppressing tears. _

_She sighed and extended a hand toward him. "Here," she offered with a smile. _

_He placed his hand in hers, as the girl's small fingers curled around his own. _

Slowly, Dale's eyes opened, narrowed against the pale, morning light that streamed in through the window.

_Friday..._

.

.

.

Yusuke and Kuwabara walked along side by side on patrol. They weren't expecting to find much. After all, the streets had been pretty dead for a few days now, with only the occasional glimpse of a Nightmare to break up the monotony.

Yusuke yawned.

"Jeez, Urameshi. You've gotta take this more seriously," Kuwabara scolded his friend, "You look like you're about to fall asleep walking."

"You're one to talk," Yusuke retorted, "I saw you smother a yawn just two blocks ago!"

"Did not!" Kuwabara protested.

"Did too."

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"DID NOT!"

"DID TOO!"

"Am I interrupting something?" a deep voice, as cold and smooth as glass, cut in.

The boys stiffened.

Yusuke ground his teeth, eyes flashing as he recognized the voice's owner. The spirit detective's hand curled into a fist and began to shake with anger. Keiko...

"You've got a lot of nerve, showing your face around me again," Yusuke Urameshi declared furiously, looking up to glare straight into the icy eyes of the hovering figure before him.

"Now, now. I came to make you a deal. Is that really how you should be talking with me?" Koa's blue-black eyebrow slid smoothly up his forehead and remained fixed quizzically in place.

"You should've thought about that before you pissed me off," Yusuke growled out, crushing his fist into his curled hand, ready to strike.

Koa's relaxed demeanor evaporated into thin air, to be replaced by a threatening one: "Rikyu is far too lenient, letting non-Sleeper's partake in a battle that is not their own. But I've been watching you, Yusuke. I know how to make you break..." a dark shadow fell over his ice-blue eyes as he suddenly appeared in front of the spirit detective, speaking poisonous words directly into his ear.

The commander whispered with a sickly smile, "Tell me, did you say goodbye to her as you left today? Because if you do not accept my deal, you should be prepared to start treating each and every day as if it was your last... or hers."

With a feral growl, Yusuke swung a signature punch. It missed as Koa skipped lightly back.

"People sustain their worst injuries protecting others," Koa commented offhandedly, head cocked to one side, "It is the most unfathomable trait of humankind."

Yusuke howled his anger and rushed forward, throwing punches. Not a single one landed as Koa easily dodged and slid past Yusuke's fists. Like oil and water.

Quickly, they formed a routine. The attacks were unimaginative, the evasive maneuvers easily predictable.

"Spirit sword!" Kuwabara suddenly called out from his position, forgotten on the sides.

And indeed, Koa had forgotten all about the carrot top that frequently accompanied Yusuke Urameshi. That boy had never been a focus of his investigation to begin with. He simply hadn't seemed worth bothering with.

But now, as Koa's concentration was broken by the glowing blade that nearly pierced the bare skin of his chest, he thought he ought to reconsider.

Although the attack was unexpected, it was too slow. Koa escaped with barely a scratch.

But he couldn't dodge Yusuke's spirit gun at such close range. Stupid, really. To have let his guard down like that.

The spirit detective fired one off straight into the commander's chest, aiming for his heart.

With a twisted grimace, the commander quickly fled the scene, disappearing into a dark portal, leaving only the smell and sound of seared and tearing flesh behind.

.

.

.

In the midst of the gloom, Koa leaned back against a fragment of pillar, his eyes closed, expression pained.

The atmosphere itself here healed him, forming tiny threads of muted light that reached out to wrap around his wounds, caressing them.

Bare feet padded up to stop in front of Koa.

"You look like hell," a voice said wryly.

Koa cracked an eyelid and looked up into Rikyu's face. A sardonic smirk quirked up the corner of the standing figure's mouth.

The wounded commander said nothing.

"I could have told you they were strong. Though... I'll admit, I didn't know they could do this," he scrutinized the gaping hole in Koa's chest through the dimension energy healing process.

Koa just grunted. He felt weak. When was the last time he had felt so vulnerable? Such a juvenile mistake... to let his guard down like that. Fifty years had really put him out of practice, it seemed.

"You have to watch out for that big one with orange hair and squinty eyes, especially. He's more trouble than he looks," Rikyu advised pleasantly, arms crossed.

"Thanks for the warning," Koa managed sarcastically, voice barely more than a wheezing whisper.

"You didn't ask," Rikyu shrugged, and turned away.

.

.

.

"We have a major emergency!" Botan announced, bursting in through the sliding doors.

I jolted to a seated position on the floor, sending my purple hair flying about me.

"What is it, Botan?" I asked, worry coloring my tone.

The reaper's baby blue eyebrows tugged downward over strong, pink eyes. "There's a festival tonight and I'm totally unprepared!" she declared.

I facepalmed.

"Seriously?" I groaned.

"Yes, seriously! Today is the fifteenth of January, which makes it Coming of Age Day," she explained in a chipper tone.

"Oh. Is it the fifteenth already?" I muttered to myself.

"Well, it's really a holiday for all the twenty-year-olds, but this face is timeless, so..." she pressed her hands to her cheeks as she beamed, "And besides, I just _love_ dressing up in a fancy furisode. Don't get to wear those too often, anymore. Aha. Ahahaha."

I just sighed as I observed her with my head in my hands.

"Oh! Which reminds me," she spun around and bent over, putting her face too far into my personal bubble, "When are you turning twenty, Friday? Even if it isn't until later in the year, this may be your only chance to celebrate. We can always sneak you in." She winked.

"Actually," I said, "I'm twenty now."

"Eh?" she pushed a finger into her cheek thoughtfully, "That's funny. I could've sworn you were only nineteen the last time we asked."

"Hmm..." I hummed noncommittally.

She thought a moment.

The door slid open, admitting Yusuke. He stepped in through the threshold, the others in tow.

They all froze in their tracks as Botan burst out with a sudden shout, "But that means you had a birthday!"

"Well, that about hits the nail on the head," I grumbled, still seated on the floor, resting my temple on a fist.

"Oooh," she groaned, "But that's bad! That means we didn't get to celebrate!"

I picked imaginary lint off my sleeve.

"Alright, it's settled," Botan made up her mind, "We definitely have to go now."

"I'm sorry, but what's settled exactly?" I asked.

The pairs of eyes in the doorway watched curiously.

"You don't get a choice, missy," she waggled a finger at me, "You didn't tell us about your birthday, so there's no getting out of the festival now. We're friends, after all. And friends celebrate friends' birthdays." Botan planted her hands firmly on her hips.

"I got it, I got it..." I grumbled and turned my head away, pouting, "It's not like I didn't have plenty of other things on my mind the past few days." Nightmares... homicidal, flying men... more Nightmares... You know, the usual.

"Wait a second," Kuwabara piped up, "So you're saying Friday already had a birthday. That's great and all, but when exactly was it?"

"The thirteenth, of course. January thirteenth," I answered, leaning back on my hands as I stared blankly up at the ceiling, letting my head hinge on my shoulders..

"That's right!" Botan's fist came down on her hand as a realization occurred to her, "Since it was your birthday, you need a gift. What would you like, Friday?"

I hummed, still staring up at the ceiling: "I'll let you know when I think of something." No need to rush, after all. I'd still be here. Celebrating on my own...

It seemed terribly wrong somehow, when I'm sure the people I'd left behind would consider it a day of mourning.

I shifted uncomfortably. True, I had forgotten about my birthday at the time, but even if I had remembered it... well, it wasn't anything important anyway. People have birthdays all the time.

Hopefully, I'd live to have a few more.

"We have a party to get ready for, everyone!" Botan announced to the group, bringing me out of my thoughts.

"Umm... so does this mean we don't have to go on a mission, tonight?" Yusuke interrupted hopefully from his position blocking the doorway.

Hati nosed his way to the front, "What are you talking about? Don't think you'll get off that easy. Such bad behavior is entirely impermissible." I could feel his eyes boring through my skull. Apparently, he still hadn't forgiven me for ditching to go on that date a few nights back. I resisted the urge to stick my tongue out at him.

"We have the furisode to get ready... the snacks... transportation," Botan ticked off on her fingers, lost in her own world.

"Actually," I rejoined the conversation, "Hati's right. We really do need to get on with our mission."

"But... but!" Botan protested indignantly, head snapping toward me.

"Relax," I flapped a hand at her, "We can still go, but I'm thinking we should wear something more practical... Well, you can dress up if you wish."

"But your furisode!" she wailed.

"I'll do just fine with the usual," I told her firmly. Well, I might dress up a little bit, but as I'd been chagrined to discover, kimonos really weren't for me. And how could I be expected to go out and kick some Nightmare butt when I could barely walk, anyway?

"Umm..." a small voice spoke up from behind the crowd in the threshold, "So does that mean we'll still be celebrating Kuronosuke-san's birthday?"

That voice... it couldn't be...

I strained to see around Yusuke's big shoulders as I sat a little taller.

"Oh yeah..." he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "Look who we picked up, guys."

Moving aside, they let the small girl through. The ice maiden was really a sight for sore eyes.

"Yukina!" I perked up, scrambling to my feet.

"Hello," she said with a small smile, waving her fingers tentatively, "I hear you had a birthday while I was gone, Kuronosuke-san."

"Nevermind that, Yukina," I pushed past the boys to get to the ice maiden, "You're back!" Grinning, I draped an arm around her shoulders.

"Let's have some tea to celebrate..." I suggested, leading her away into the kitchen, passing a certain redhead as we went.

Well, I supposed it couldn't hurt to have some of that jasmine tea he was so skilled at making... the mission would still be there later.

We settled down at the kitchen table, and I poured us some tea as soon as it finished brewing.

Sipping it delicately, I sighed. Oh, jasmine, how I love thee.

I took another sip.

"You look happy," the ice maiden observed with a twinkle in her bright, ruby eyes, "Did something happen with that boy?"

And for the second time, Yukina made me choke on my tea.

I really had to remember to be more cautious around her when I was drinking hot beverages. Her unnervingly insightful observations surprised me every time.

Flapping my hand at her, I hissed under my breath: "Shhhhhh!" and jerked my head around to indicate the other room where Botan was busy rushing about with the festival preparations.

Leaning out of our chairs, the two of us peered around the door to make sure she hadn't heard.

Yukina covered her mouth with a hand and giggled.

.

.

.

Kkkkrrsh. Kkrrshh. Kkrrsh.

Botan ran a brush through my unruly hair. She hit a snag, jerking my head back. Inside my mind I grumbled, but said nothing to the ferry girl.

Upon discovering that I intended to wear jeans and the same, fleece-lined jacket that I'd been wearing throughout the winter here - - mainly because it was the only jacket I owned - - Botan declared that she wasn't letting me leave the temple without at least torturing me by ripping all my hairs out one by one at the roots.

Or maybe that was just my interpretation.

I think she termed it "prettying me up a bit."

Potatoes, tomatoes, potatoes, tomatoes.

"That's odd..." the reaper muttered to herself.

"Hnng?" I grunted by way of question, biting my lip to keep from yanking the brush out of her hand and throwing it across the room as I felt a few more hairs separate from my already tender scalp.

.

.

.

"I thought you dyed your hair, Friday?" I asked curiously, putting the brush down and running the purple strands through my fingers. Humans didn't naturally have hair this color, after all. I hadn't thought to ask before, but... well, the answer had seemed so obvious that it didn't cross my mind to question it.

"Yeah," she said shortly, before musing, "Actually, it should be about time to dye it again."

"Oh? You haven't colored it recently?" I questioned with a small frown, cerulean eyebrows knitting together. This was certainly very strange. Hmm... I wonder...

"Not since coming here, no... Why - - ouch!" she protested when I plucked a purple thread from her head.

Discretely, I tucked it into a pocket.

"Watch it!" she turned her head to glare at me.

"Sorry, sorry!" I said sheepishly, putting on my best cat-face, "My bad."

Grumbling under her breath, she turned back around.

I would have to remember to take the sample back to Reikai. The analysts would know what to do with it there.

.

.

.

Yukina held up the small mirror with an apologetic smile.

An uncomfortable feeling knotted my spine. I hated mirrors, though where this recent aversion had come from, I didn't know.

Reluctantly, I looked in the silver pane, intending to give it just a quick glance and make a brief show of praise for Botan's work.

Tearing my eyes away from its reflective surface, I stared at the blank wall, eyebrows pulling downward.

I opened my mouth. And closed it again. And frowned.

I could see now why Botan had been confused.

It had been a month already and my starkly-contrasting, blindingly white roots were nowhere in sight. Even in my best months, I could usually find a sliver somewhere that needed a touch-up.

Curiouser and curiouser.

A sinking feeling developed in the pit of my stomach. This did not bode well. A wisp of a thought crept in through the back of my mind, but I pushed it away blindly, certain I wouldn't want to hear what it had to say.

"Don't you like it, Friday?" Botan questioned in response to the frown.

"Ah... Yes, of course. I was just a bit surprised... It looks like I won't be needing to dye my hair, after all," I laughed awkwardly and placed a hand behind my head, hoping she wouldn't notice how forced it sounded.

.

.

.

My brow creased in thought as I waited.

She was always so odd... Friday.

Most humans would take full advantage of a day where the world would supposedly revolve around them. Receiving attention and gifts, not to mention a celebration.

But she had let it slip quietly by... Right under our noses it had passed without so much as a whisper or offhanded remark.

Sometimes, she was funny that way.

She was the center of attention so often that it had never even occurred to me to wonder whether she desired it.

They just seemed to go together, wherever she went.

Although... perhaps I wasn't the only one experiencing new things.

"We're going to be late! Hurry, hurry!" Botan pushed Yusuke through the door, cutting off my wandering thoughts.

"Keiko can wait a minute. Jeez. You act like it's the end of the world..." Yusuke grumbled, an open bottle of hair gel in hand.

"Yusuke Urameshi, you had better not make your fiancee wait for you alone at the festival! Even for you, that's unbelievably rude," Botan scolded.

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" he snapped, glaring daggers after the ferry girl who had already scampered off to inform the others of our immediate departure.

I stared blankly at the boy who held his arm aloft in protest, hair-product in hand.

"Whatever..." he finally grumbled, lowering his arm.

Finding a nearby window, he continued smoothing his hair, making use of its dully reflective surface.

I sighed as I waited, casually clothed and with my own hair in its usual unattended condition.

.

.

.

"Don't complain," I told Botan as I strolled down the dark street, thrusting my hands deep into the pockets of my fleece-lined jacket, "We have work to do, after all."

"But we only got to stay for a couple of hours!" the ferry girl protested with a moan, "You guys are no fun at all!"

"Just get going already," Yusuke ordered loudly, letting his head list unconcernedly to the side, "Don't forget you have to take Keiko home."

"I'll be _fine_, Yusuke," Keiko protested the apparent excess of concern.

Yusuke put his hands on her shoulders protectively and stared searchingly down into her eyes as she looked up at him with a wide gaze.

The strong bond between them made even such a small gesture feel so personal that I felt like an intruder and had to turn my head away, unable to watch.

I scuffed the toe of my boot on the rough pavement idly.

"I won't let you become a target for every lowlife that's afraid to show his face to my fist, Keiko," the words were half-joking but his tone was low. It wasn't too hard to tell what the spirit detective was thinking about.

Those commanders always seemed to go from bad to worse.

There was no audible response, but I assumed she nodded as Botan stepped in to lead her away.

Silently, those of us who remained divided into our usual pairs.

My four-legged partner and I hadn't been walking for long when I halted suddenly in my tracks.

A sharp pain like an icy bullet tore through the space behind my eyes, numbing my mind. Although the source wasn't tangible to my senses, I felt it deep in my bones.

"Is something wrong, Friday?" Hati questioned, unable to feel what I was sensing.

Wrong? Yes. Something was terribly wrong.

Without warning, every cell in my body screamed at me to move, and I bolted, following the invisible tug that drew me away from the hub of the city.

Dimly, I heard the pounding of Hati's paws as they hit the sidewalk behind me, but I couldn't wait for him.

Time was running out.

.

.

.

When I first saw Shimabukuro, I didn't want to believe my own eyes.

I came tearing around the corner, feet flying over the pavement, only to find that the damage had already been inflicted.

My feet faltered, dredging to a stop.

A cold, foreboding wind whistled through the industrial corridor, the lines coming off the power plant swaying in its passage. The moonlight overhead cast dimly off the many windows, setting them gleaming in a low, predatorial sort of way-watchful eyes under dull lids.

The high, stone walls seemed to go on without end, enclosing us from all directions in this undreamable nightmare.

Dripping like a slow leak from a broken faucet, the new blood ran down his arm to splash in bright bloom over the dull concrete. The orange-haired boy shook, body pushed past its limits.

Back against the wall, he curled over on himself, his good arm holding his ribcage as though it were the only way to keep the fractured pieces from falling to the floor before him.

One of his eyes was sealed shut with a massive bruise, as dark as the skin of a plum. A small, trickling river of red oozed out from his forehead and his lip was cracked.

Through the untouched eye, he glared fiercely up at the figure before him.

If I had had any doubt as to the guilt of this third party, the crimson tinge that coated his two short swords as they hung at his sides immediately made up my resolve.

Of course it was him.

It was always him.

With a surprised look adorning his deceptively angelic face, Rikyu looked up to meet my eyes. He obviously hadn't counted on this unscheduled interruption.

His yellow eyes held no guilt, no remorse.

And in that moment, this face I wore cracked.

Then from behind its carefully maintained cage of iron bars, another emerged.

.

**AN: I've become so addicted to caffeine even in the first month of school Starting to read all "late"s as latte. Yeesh. **

**Couple of things. (1) I have a "mini" aka very large journal post on my bio at the moment that shares some of my thoughts on writing. There's some tips there if anyone is interested or just curious. (2) I just thought I should let you guys know that I'm available for you to PM me if you want a quick response or have a question (about DTMB, fanfiction, YYH, life, the universe, everything, 42, whatever...). I know I'm always saying I'm busy, but I don't bite (really) and I'll try to get back to you ASAP.**

**Credit where credit is due... Some of you may have caught these, but "potato, tomato, potato, tomato" is from _Megamind_, and "curiouser and curiouser" is an _Alice in Wonderland_ reference. For some reason, Friday was just on a role with the references today. **

**Oh, and let me clarify. Dale's dream was on the 13th (makes sense he would dream about Friday on her birthday, right?). So a couple of days passed around the Koa fight before the festival. **

I still have a deviantart account where I will be posting some pictures of characters, etc... to go with this story. Check it out if you want. I'm **theanonymouspen . deviantart . com** (no spaces)

**Update (Again):** There's a super awesome picture of Rikyu x Friday up on my deviantart (closeup and full picture). I realize now may not be the time, considering... well, you read the chapter. But it's finally finished, so I had to post it!

Thank you for reading :)

**Preview: Do I really need to entice you with a preview this time? Don't forget to let me know your reply preference if you review! :D**

**Please REVIEW! **


	39. Blackout

**In a landslide vote of 1:0, replying to reviews by PM has won. So that's what I will be and have been doing. Thanks to _Angel of Randomosity, TheChosenOne1889, Puppylove7, Pink-Fairyrose, mrsbeggins, Pelawen Night, and Kajihenge Yoko _for reviewing! You guys are awesome! :D**

**A word of clarification: Friday's other face isn't like Kurama and Yoko. It isn't really even a split personality or an actual being inside her. It's more of a raw manifestation of her animal instinct. And no, she doesn't change her appearance any more than her usual light show. **

_**. . .**_

"_**I **know I've got a face in me, points out all my mistakes to me. You've got a face on the inside too. Your paranoia's probably worse. I don't know what set me off first, but I know what I can't stand. Everybody acts like the fact of the matter is I can't add up to what you can. _

_But everybody has a face that they hold inside. A face that awakes when I close my eyes. A face that watches every time they lie. A face that laughs every time they fall. _

_And watches everything. _

_So you know that when it's time to sink or swim, that the face inside is watching you too, right inside your skin**." **_

_**- - Linkin Park**_

_**. . .**_

"It's quiet," Kurama murmured, casting his eyes around him as he searched the dark corners of the buildings that clustered ominously around the pair.

"Too quiet," the fire apparition who paced by his side agreed.

Kurama raised his voice, "I wonder - - " he began, the sense of foreboding growing in his mind.

From behind, the sound of pounding footsteps increased in volume, grabbing the pair's attention. Their heads turned. Swiftly, the dark grey blur of a wolf approached, sprinting down their street.

"Thank goodness I've found you," Hati panted, pulling up alongside, "Friday has - - "

Suddenly, a great darkness descended on the city, as the lights cut out with a slow whine.

An intense feeling of trepidation wrapped the trio in its cold grasp.

A brief flash of erratic light could be seen dimly through the buildings that grew tall around them like a forest of ancient trees.

Wordlessly, they exchanged glances. This did not bode well.

Needing no further prompting, the dependable pair turned and followed Hati as he hastened to lead the way.

"Hey!" a loud shout echoed down the dark street, "Hey, wait up!"

Yusuke caught up to them, but behind him, Kuwabara stumbled in the pitch black night.

"Please tell me one of you guys knows what the hell is going on?" Yusuke requested gruffly.

Kuwabara rubbed his bruised face as he joined them. "Hang on a second. Where's Friday? Don't tell me this..." he trailed off, taking in the overwhelming darkness that covered them like a blanket.

Hati nodded, "The possibility seems all too likely to ignore."

"Then what the hell are we standing around here chit-chatting for?" Yusuke cracked his knuckles.

"Careful, Yusuke. If things are like this, we could be running right into a very dangerous situation," the wolf cautioned as the group picked up their pace once more.

"All the more reason why we need to hurry," Yusuke grumbled.

.

.

.

My vision slowly returned to me as I regained the use of my senses.

What was going on here?

I blinked as I looked dully about.

All around me, the street appeared as though a natural disaster had struck. The pavement was fractured, crumbled, broken.

Behind me, large segments of the wall were crushed, craters formed with deep cracks adorning them like the delicate lace of a spiderweb.

Great beams which had formerly held up the lines that conducted electricity toward the city were toppled, fallen over like so many sticks from a jengan tower built by a child's unsteady hand. The lines themselves were snapped, and occasionally, the ends would spark and thrash, writhing like a great mass of black snakes over the charred ground.

What terror had been unleashed here? What kind of being was capable of causing such utter destruction?

Was it Rikyu?

Warily, I looked down the street, searching for any sign of the commander, but he was nowhere to be found.

No. It couldn't have been Rikyu. If he was the one who had unleashed such power, surely he would have remained to see his victory through.

But if not Rikyu, then who... or what?

My legs trembled from the strain as I felt the pull of exhaustion, dragging my body down.

I let my weary body slump back against the wall. My head clacked against the concrete support, and as it did so, I noticed for the first time the buildings that towered above me had suffered the incomprehensible damage as well.

The power plant which had seemed so sturdy... indestructible even, had been torn wide open one one side. The shattered beams, sticking out in disarray like broken ribs revealing the building's innards, reminded me of a large gash torn from a metal carcass by the teeth of some great behemoth. The slow creak of the steel beams as they slid past one another was an ominous sound in my ears as the structure sang its swan song, looking ahead to its imminent collapse.

A slight tug pulled at the back of my brain, but my thoughts were hazy, and they stuck in the back of my mind like glue, refusing to come forward where I could examine them.

What terror had been unleashed here?

My heavy head slumped forward onto my chest, eyelids barely restraining themselves from sealing shut as the tips of my lashes brushed. And through them, I saw on the ground brilliant splatters of vermillion, an overzealous artist's paint, that had seeped into the porous concrete.

Blood.

I closed my eyes and performed my self-evaluation.

I felt the exhaustion deep into my bones, but beyond that there was little pain. Just a dull numbness that seemed to surround me, easing the aches and bruises.

The blood wasn't mine.

The blood wasn't mine... but whose?

Shimabukuro.

My eyes snapped open and my spine straightened as I went on the alert. Head jerking around, I sought the familiar shade of orange that would denote the boy's presence.

And I found him standing there, not far from myself.

But what I saw made my lips halt in their attempt to call out his name.

His eyes.

His eyes were wide, blank, staring, numb, as if they couldn't believe the things they had just witnessed; two lone survivors standing on the brink.

The boy's arms, the one still dripping blood in a slow leak, hung forgotten at his sides.

His jaw was slack, mouth fixed in an appalled expression on his ghost-like face, pale beneath its tan, as if all the blood had been drained from it.

Lines that etched themselves around his wide eyes looked as though they could never be erased, an outward manifestation of the permanent scar burned into his memory.

How could I call out his name, when he looked at me with those eyes?

And suddenly, the shame of what I had done hit me like a wave.

I didn't have to be told. The truth sang out from my very bones, a million pointing fingers accusing me.

I had lied to him. I had let him believe that I was just a normal girl like any other, when the actuality was so far removed from it that as I stood here, I barely even felt human anymore.

And coming unglued, the reality of what had happened in this place struck me like a blow more forceful than any I had sustained from my worst enemies.

This natural disaster, this mindless force that had crushed the strong structures that built themselves up like fortresses around us, seeming determined to outlast the test of time... that destructive force... was me.

And now as I stood here before him, I had nothing to say.

What words could speak out more strongly than the violent actions he had just witnessed that reduced the strongholds around him to rubble?

The very look of his eyes told me he had seen it all.

He knew what I was capable of.

And the lie that I had never meant to hurt anyone with, had never even meant to tell... well, he had nearly lost his life because of it. And no words I could say would ever right this wrong. This horror that I had brought upon him unwittingly.

The glaring truth stepped into the light, laughing, mocking me. How had I ever believed that I could continue to pretend that I was just an ordinary girl?

Naive. Foolish. Vain.

There was no room for pretending anymore. The time had come to grow up, to surpass this make believe. It was time now to step into my own skin and accept what I had become.

I supposed I could understand now what they meant, when they said that with great power came great responsibility. And I had been so irresponsible for such a long time...

Really, how had someone like me ever ended up in charge?

The fate of the world was resting on my slim shoulders, and I couldn't even protect one boy? The boy that I claimed to care so much about...

As this cold splash of reality hit me full in the face, I swallowed the lump in my throat and stood to face him with as much determination as I could muster.

Shimabukuro...

Without even meaning to, I had told such an atrocious lie that it nearly ripped the life straight from your body. How could I ever hope to atone for that? For this intense darkness within me that had disguised itself as light?

Maybe if I give you up now, I can at least pay for some of what I have done, though I understand I cannot right this wrong that has fallen upon you because of me. Nothing will ever right this wrong. But maybe now, if I let you go, Shimabukuro, you can at least live... to blame me... to despise the lies I've told you.

And that would be enough for me.

And someday, when you recover from this, I hope you go on to find your happiness with someone else. Someone who won't lie to you. An ordinary girl. Because you deserve it. All the things I can't give you... you deserve it all, Shimabukuro.

Don't let my shame hold you back. Don't let my guilty conscience influence you.

You have a good heart, Shimabukuro.

I cleared my throat.

The truth is, I lied, Shimabukuro. Now at least let me pay the price.

Levelly, I stared into his hollow eyes.

"If you want to run," I told him, "I'll understand."

My voice was even, surprising me with its own calm.

And for the longest moment, he just stood there. I wondered if he had comprehended through the lifeless look that clouded his eyes.

Then slowly, painfully slowly, he turned. And not running, but walking, he slowly shuffled away, his numb footsteps leading him of their own accord. His body driven by instinct, though the screaming of his mind trapped inside him could barely comprehend this horror. The desperate truth of what he had just witnessed.

The last glimpse of brilliant orange vanished from my sight as he rounded the corner, seeming to draw the last reserves of my strength from me, taking them with him as he disappeared.

My bones turned to rubber, melting down as my legs gave out from under me, sending me crashing to the ground.

Pulling my knees in close to my chest, I sat against the wall and brought my hands up to my face, pausing to examine them.

Why did it feel like everything I touch... gets destroyed?

I hid my face in those hands that looked deceptively fragile, bearing no hint now of the raw destructive power they could unleash.

"_Your hands are so small..." _his voice whispered in the back of my mind, and the gentle memory cut through my heart like the sharpest knife.

I gasped for air. My fingers found their hold in my roots as they dug sharply into my scalp.

I would banish all these memories...

Never again would I give Rikyu any reason to haunt him.

That's what I decided.

It was impossible for someone like me who was so far from normal to give myself to one so blind to the supernatural.

Yusuke and Keiko were the exception to that rule. And even then, she was constantly endangered for his sake.

Why hadn't I seen it before? It seemed so obvious now. So obvious that even a fool should have realized it.

Was I a fool? I hadn't thought so.

Maybe it was true what they say... that love is blind.

You do not see the pitfalls and traps that lay beneath your feet, ready to catch you in their cruel snare, when you are always looking up.

So now I would keep my eyes fixed only downward, looking straight into hell to meet those yellow eyes that burned like fire into my memory...

Unannounced, a brief flutter like a gentle wind brushed my cheek.

Slowly, I lifted my head and my eyes slid open.

Just beyond the tip of my nose, resting on my knee, was a thing I never would have expected to see in this place... a butterfly, like the ones from my hometown, bright orange with dark patterns painted on their wings. It looked lost, out here all alone in the dark when it was a fragile creature of the day.

Surprised, my lips parted and I exhaled a warm breath onto its wings, but my movement startled it, and it lifted up, carried on the wind from my lungs, into the thick darkness before me.

I watched its brief flutter as it dipped tiredly down the broken street, between the fallen pillars that held the power lines. Attracted to the light, it drifted toward the severed showers of electric sparks. Never realizing the danger, it came too close.

Silently, an arc of bright light snapped out to race over its brilliantly colored wings, engulfing it completely. Blackened, the gentle creature fell to the ground, still as a leaflet of crumpled paper.

Swallowing the bile in my throat, my eyes slid shut once more, and I hid my face in my hands.

.

.

.

What had gone on here? We stopped just short of the scene.

With cautious eyes I surveyed the area. The street was in chaos. Materials that had once seemed so sturdy were fractured in a million pieces like a glass in the hand of a careless child.

And alone in the middle of it all sat Friday.

Her face was hidden from view, buried in her arms, and she was utterly still. A faint breeze stirred her hair, pushing the purple strands further over the thin sliver of her brow that was still visible.

A faint gasp beside me caused me to look down over the blue-haired head of the reaper whose worry-filled eyes were wide with concern.

"Friday..." she whispered as her brain worked to comprehend the chaos that met her eyes.

The street was dark, but for a small shower of blue sparks that ignited from the end of a power line, causing the severed tip to twitch like the tail of a seething feline.

"Friday," Botan said again, louder this time, as her feet pulled her toward the seated figure.

The girl's stillness was almost peaceful, but the agonized curl of the tips of her fingers in her hair betrayed her otherwise calm exterior, giving expression to the current of anguish that ran just beneath the surface. An dark air seemed to hang around her like a cloud.

She still did not look up.

I wondered if she was crying.

My keen, emerald eyes took in the bloodstains on the ground, but my nose did not alert me to any of it as belonging to her. From where I was, the girl's appearance seemed to verify this observation.

Although one of the sleeves of her jacket had been torn clean off, she did not look to be injured beyond a few faint, superficial scratches and the new tears in her jeans.

Botan approached Friday.

"What happened here?" she asked, worry coloring her voice.

Slowly, Friday raised her head. Her eyes were dry as paper.

Unconsciously, I took a short step back, startled by what I saw, as my own gaze widened.

More than eyes, they resembled pits, as a dull blankness looked out from her face, transforming it, leeching the life from it.

These were not the eyes I knew so well.

Not even a hint of her plain, brown eyes that had shone with an extraordinary determination, filled to the brim with life like none I had ever seen before could be found.

What had marked this change?

"What happened here? Was it Rikyu?" Botan repeated herself when Friday did not answer.

Friday was silent still, but momentarily, the girl blinked, her eyes closing slowly and with an extreme act of effort pushed herself to her feet, bones creaking in protest.

"It doesn't matter anymore," the girl spoke in a low tone that was surprisingly raw.

The wind whipped through her hair and she tugged what remained of her jacket closer around her, like a second skin to replace the one that had grown cold.

"Let's just go," she said in a flat voice, devoid of emotion as she turned and began to walk away, leaving the rest of us to follow.

But Hati would not let her go so easily.

I did not know the things the wolf had seen in his long years, but more than the rest of us, he seemed to comprehend what had gone on in this place.

Closing the distance that separated him from his Sleeper, he spoke out to her plainly: "Anger is not your friend." The heavy words fell like stones into the tense silence.

And as I stood, muscles clenched on edge, I identified the true origin of this strained feeling.

The very air here was thick with energy, like the mounting pressure of the atmosphere before a storm, charged and ready to open a path that would connect the heavens and the earth as a bolt of searing-white lightning would rend the sky, tearing it in two.

Her eyes gleamed dully as they reflected the sparks that flickered from the severed arteries of the power lines.

"You think I don't know?" her voice was so low that even my ears could barely catch the sound.

She shifted, appearing ready to return to her pace, but Hati stopped her. "Promise me you won't give in to it," he demanded with resolved eyes, clenching the fabric of her already-shredded jeans between sharp teeth.

The tension in the air crescendoed to a hair-raising potential, but at its height, it broke, and subsided with a subtle sigh, like a spent wave returning to the sea.

Nevertheless, her answer was not quite pleasant as she spoke once more: "I don't make promises that I don't intend to keep," she said. And with those words, she continued on her path, the denim of her pant leg ripping with a loud sound as the piece that was left behind, trapped in the wolf's strong jaw, fluttered in the wind.

I could not see his face.

.

.

.

_To that face, which lives inside me:_

_Though I do not know what you are, or where you came from, if you are even a part of me..._

_You have lent me strength, and for that I am grateful. But I am not someone whose hand you need to hold. I am not subservient to these feelings that you so desire... the boiling rage that makes you thrive. _

_Even so, I cannot force myself to feel nothing at all._

_I've spent too long riding the high of my anger, and I can no longer give it up. In that time, I have become dependent on it. It gives me strength, fuels my power, drives me to achieve new heights. Without it, there is very little I can do on my own. _

_But even so, I know that I'm better than this. Why should I let this anger have me? Why should I let rage take control? I am not some mindless creature that runs on instinct alone. I am not that face. _

_So I will save all this rage that I have bottled up inside me. I'll be saving it for him._

_And you can devour it all, if it will help you to grow... _

_But know that I will not let you out... cannot let you out... you are far too dangerous for this world. _

_Only someday, lend me the strength I need to overcome him. When that day comes, I will rip out _his_ heart... and crush him. And then he will be no more. No longer in my way. _

_Then, I will be free to do as I please. No more looking over my shoulder. No more holding my breath..._

_That is the promise I have made. _

"Friday?" the small voice interrupted my dark musings, and I lifted my eyes from the pavement, where my intense stare seemed it would begin to burn little pits in the ground before me at any moment.

A worried face met my gaze, and I realized just how strangely I had been acting.

Her pink eyes were wide with a barely-contained anxiety as she fluttered before me with nervous energy, fretting over my state of being. My eyes softened.

It seemed I was causing her a great deal of concern. I hadn't meant for that to be the case. I shouldn't let my friend suffer so over my unbalanced mental state.

I put on a bright smile.

"Gomen, gomen," I apologized lightly, hands shoved in my pockets, "I didn't mean to worry you."

I ruffled her hair, jokingly pointing out her sad expression, trying to convince the ferry girl that her fears were unfounded.

"If you keep looking like that, your brow is going to permanently crease," I laughed. It sounded a little hollow in my own ears, but I surprised myself by how convincing it still seemed.

The worried furrow of her brow smoothed out and she laughed along with me, though I think hers was real.

"You're sure you're alright?" she asked hopefully.

"Mm," I nodded, keeping my smile turned on.

"That's good," she said in a relieved sort of way, placing a hand over her heart.

That's right, it wasn't fair to the others for me to act like that. What had passed tonight hadn't been their fault, hadn't involved them at all.

A cold wind picked up, blowing through the corridor of the street, whipping my hair around in its passing.

Automatically, I shivered, feeling the goosebumps rise on my arm where the sleeve of my jacket had been removed somehow.

It was cold.

Funny, with all the things I couldn't feel, it seemed the cold still got to me.

Cold. It was a strangely ordinary sensation after all the things I'd been through.

"A jacket," I spoke into the night sky as I examined the ocean of stars made all the more prominent by the fact that the majority of the city lights were still out, having not been supported by generators of their own.

"What?" Botan questioned.

"You asked what I wanted for my birthday. My old jacket ripped, and I need a new one," I stated, "It's a little chilly out here."

Botan perked up. "Then I know just the place!" she said, her exuberant smile returning.

"Ah... Hati-san," she addressed the wolf, flapping her hand at him, "Friday's worked _very_ hard today, and besides, we never got to finish celebrating her birthday. It's alright if we take a little break now, right?"

"That would probably be for the best," the wolf said, nodding solemnly. I could feel his eyes as they tried to search mine.

_You'd be happier if you didn't think too hard on it... Hati..._ I thought, careful to keep my smile fixed in place, even if its curve had gone rather flat.

.

.

.

She smiled brightly, but it was so stretched that it made me want to turn my head away. Such false expressions didn't suit her.

What had happened tonight that she would rather hide than let out into the light? It didn't seem like a course of action she would ordinarily take.

That woman... I could never understand what she was thinking... why she did the things she did. Often, I couldn't make sense of any of it.

But I was confident in my ability when it came to puzzle solving... surely someday, I would gather all the missing pieces.

Patience is a virtue, after all.

I shoved my hands deep in my pockets and followed behind the others, keeping my emerald eyes trained on the girl, watching her subtle movements for anything that would give her motivations away.

The thought crossed my mind that perhaps I had become a little too curious.

.

**AN: Sorry if anyone feels they were gypped with the Friday kicking Rikyu's butt scene (you know, the nonexistent one). There will be plenty of those in the future, promise. The point this time is that it was more frightening to Friday to have no recollection of what she's done than facing Rikyu would ever be. **

**On a random note, I'm feeling particularly proud of this title. They usually have at least two relevant meanings, but this one has three. Oho! Since I'm feeling so cunning today, allow me to explain... (1) an electrical shortage... very literal (2) a loss of consciousness / memory (3) suppression of information / silencing of truth. Anywho... there you go. In case anyone was interested in knowing the depths of my genius :P**

I still have a deviantart account where I will be posting some pictures of characters, etc... to go with this story. Check it out if you want. I'm **theanonymouspen . deviantart . com** (no spaces)

**Just anticipate an UPDATE:** Pictures, pictures on DA. If anyone is curious to see, you should just check it out weekly, since I've really been enjoying drawing lately. Trying to sketch ever day. There's some pretty epic actiony sketches of Friday... with lovely glowy bits... Er... just check it out... (And yes, I still love comments, even on DA).

Thank you for reading :)

**Preview: Friday and Botan search for a jacket. But that's not all they find while they're out. Hiei actually sets foot in a clothing store? And the gang gets a hint at Tsuki-Yomi's powers!? And what's going to happen to that roll of tape Friday has been carrying around? All coming up next Friday! (Hopefully.)**

**Please REVIEW! (I love knowing what you guys love so I can try to keep things interesting for you all.)**


	40. Reflection

**Midterms are on the horizon! Sorry guys. You know what that means... I probably won't update for a couple weeks but I had to get this one in first. I just couldn't let all my lovely reviewers and readers down. **

**A big thank you to _Kajihenge Yoko, Puppylove 7, Angel of Randomosity, TheChosenOne1889, Pelawen Night, buzzk97, and Isabella of the Night _for encouraging me to keep writing this chapter! **

**_buzzk97:_ Thank you for reading this far and I hope you continue to like it! Friday's relational life is a little out of whack at the moment, but it will be resolved by the end of the story, so you'll just have to wait and see ;]**

_**. . .**_

"_**S**ometimes I just want to go in a room and break things and scream. Like, it's so much pressure all the time and if you get upset or angry, people say, 'Are you on the rag of something?' And it's like I want to say, 'No. I'm just pissed off right now. Can't I just be pissed off? How come that's not okay for me?' Like my dad will say, 'I can't talk to you when you're hysterical.' And I'm totally not being hysterical! I'm just mad. And he's the one losing it. But then I feel embarrassed anyway. So I slap on that smile and pretend everything's okay even though it's not**." ― Libba Bray**_

_**. . .**_

I listened to the dull tread of my footsteps as I followed Botan's blue head that bounced before me down the quiet night street.

She was leading us back toward the city's center, toward the festivities that I didn't feel like joining just now.

A flash of orange caught my eye and my head turned, startled gaze widening.

He was waiting under the awning of a bus stop, checking his watch like he was waiting for someone.

My feet stopped in their tracks as I just stood still and watched the back of his orange head of hair.

Shim - -

A girl came running across the street toward him, and as she caught up to him, she caught his arm and smiled.

He turned to offer her a pleasant greeting of his own, and I realized that he wasn't Shimabukuro after all.

Just a look-alike.

But maybe someday... that would be Shimabukuro, with a nice girl on his arm. And she would smile up at him and he would smile back. And they'd share everything together. All their memories. All their secrets. The good... and the bad.

"Friday?" Botan had apparently noticed I wasn't following any longer.

I flinched at the close proximity of her face that I hadn't taken notice of before.

She waved a hand in front of my eyes, "Hello? Anyone in there?"

I caught her hand and pushed it away, "Yeah, I'm here," I mumbled.

"Really. You've been out of it ever since you went running off on your own," she said with a suspicious pout.

I shrugged, trying to maintain a nonchalant demeanor, "It's nothing."

"Why won't you just tell - - " she began.

"That's a nice one," I cut her off, changing topics defensively as I stared into the window display of a shop we had coincidentally stopped in front of. A plain, sturdy-looking jacket of brown leather was draped over the mannequin inside. It looked warm.

"Oh, um... yes... Well, I suppose we can go in," Botan conceded.

"Bleh. Shopping," Yusuke made a face, "Sorry, guys, but I'm out of here."

"Uh... yeah. Me too," Kuwabara muttered and bolted, catching up to his long-time friend and rival.

I looked over at the remaining three: Hati, Hiei, and Kurama. They didn't budge. Probably, they could see right through me, and were staying out of some misplaced feelings of concern for a teammate.

I shrugged, saying nothing, and crossed the threshold, following after Botan.

.

.

.

Orange.

I turned my head.

No.

Of course it wasn't him.

I sighed.

Why did it seem like everyone had orange hair today?

"Look, look," Botan said, "This is a cute one."

I glanced up. "Mm," I demurred with a small smile, "Yeah. It's okay."

"Hmm..." she said, "Maybe something more like this?"

"Hmm," I hummed, and as I wandered down the row, I stepped into a separate room where there were more racks of clothes lining the walls, and less people.

Kurama was sitting on one of the padded benches there in that solitary area, reading a book.

Silently, I perused the garments hanging there.

One of the sweater's sleeves caught in my fingers and I froze.

It was the exact same color, that rusted orange. My eyes went about a million miles away, pulling me deeper into thoughts that I would rather leave well enough alone.

Why was it that everything seemed to remind me of that boy? Every subtle flash of orange grabbed my eyes like magnets, causing my heart to leap painfully as it pounded in my chest with a dull ache.

Why was it that every hint of that shade turned my head? He was not here, but every passerby and stranger, anyone who remotely resembled the boy from behind with the color of their hair or the way they held their shoulders brought me to a grinding halt.

I shouldn't be thinking about that boy.

For his sake... and mine.

There are some things in life that you can't have, and at some point you just have to accept them and move on.

"Miss Kuronosuke..." a tentative voice interrupted my thoughts.

I looked over my shoulder to the bench where Kurama was sitting, book now closed. He looked as though he wanted to say something. The wrinkle of concern between his brows made my stomach clench nervously. I didn't want to be interrogated right now.

"Are you... alright?" he questioned slowly, and his lips pursed as though he thought perhaps he shouldn't be asking. Perhaps he was right.

"Mm," I spun around to face him with a smile, dropping the orange sleeve of the garment like a poisonous snake, "Of course. Why shouldn't I be?" It's not like I just watched someone I cared for be torn apart and then flee from me like I was the enemy.

I concentrated on my breathing and keeping my smile from twisting. Unable to meet his gaze any longer for fear of those penetrating emerald eyes, I shut mine.

"Why are you smiling, woman?" Hiei's harsh voice cut in and I jumped, eyes snapping open, not having seen him enter the room.

"What are you talking about?" I turned to him instead, feigning ignorance, keeping my smile turned on, "Is there something wrong with smiling now?"

For a moment he didn't speak. I didn't miss the brief glance he shared with Kurama. The spirit fox looked back at him with a strange expression. If I didn't know better, I might have called it warning.

"You reek of sadness," Hiei's heavy words filled the crowded space, oppressive, crushing.

I couldn't keep up the smile, and it fell away. I stared blankly at the space where the fire apparition stood.

"What happened earlier?" Hiei pressed on with the line of questioning that I had successfully evaded thus far.

"Heh," I breathed, turning away, "Well, you can always just read my mind and find out, right?" I didn't want to talk about it, didn't want to think that far. If he really gave a flying damn - - which was doubtful - - then let him do the work.

I put my attention superficially toward the clothes on the wall, hiding my face from scrutiny as my heart was crushed painfully by an invisible hand.

"It's that boy, isn't it?" Kurama spoke up from his place forgotten on the bench. I kept my back toward them both.

"Oh? Is that all?" Hiei said, and I could feel his lip curl in disdain, "It seems you're still just a silly girl after all."

"You think I don't know that?" I coughed out, breathlessly. Hadn't I scolded myself a hundred times over already?

"Look at me," I continued on past the void that filled my lungs, suffocating, "I can barely take care of myself. Sometimes I wonder how such an irresponsible person like me ended up in charge. If it weren't for you guys, this whole world would probably be screwed by now..."

They didn't make so much as a sound, and I kept speaking into the silence, voice slowly diminishing, "But still, if there was someone, _anyone_ else… What the hell." I leaned my face against the rack of clothes and sighed into them.

_Ever since coming here, I've been… unstable. Like there's another face that sits inside me. One that's consumed with hate and loathing. Behind bars, it waits… and watches. From time to time, this face goes back to look at the other, see how it's doing. It's always growing nicely. Patiently biding its time until that moment when this face cracks. Then, it will emerge_...

_Today, it got out. And when it did, I didn't recognize myself. _

I wanted to scream. The feelings built up inside me, a relentless pressure that threatened to pull me apart from the inside out.

I hated all this romantic stuff. It would turn a person into something they'd never have chosen of their own free will.

"Miss Kuronosuke..."

I cut Kurama off, a torrent of blank despair and hopelessness overflowing from my lips. I couldn't hold it inside me any longer if I'd tried. "When you're young, every little thing feels like the end of the world… but it's a lie. The world will keep on turning, completely oblivious to what goes on with its creatures." The stunned silence met my back like a chilly winter breeze.

"Even this fight to stop the world from ending… the world won't really end. Just the world as we know it. But to prevent that change from coming… we'd do anything, _give_ anything for it," the soft fabrics pressed against my face and I deflated into them, suddenly embarrassed, "Listen to me, rambling on… Stupid, really..."

I shut my mouth resolutely.

The room grew silent once more. I straightened, keeping my back toward them as I pretended to continue my search for a jacket.

In time, the quiet grew less uncomfortable, though the feeling of searching eyes still pierced my torn jacket from behind.

I ignored it as best I could, letting my heart rate slow with my breathing until I was closer to calm than I had been.

But it wouldn't last.

A silver glint caught the corner of my eye, and my lids widened as I tilted my head towards the source.

A sensation like a cold finger trailed down my spine as ghostly fingers of fear seemed to wrap themselves around my throat, making the air stick until I couldn't catch my breath.

In a near-hidden patch on the wall, half-covered by clothing, stood a dressing mirror, a cold and ominous air seeming to radiate from it as the light slid twistingly over its surface.

This feeling... this feeling of death.

Inside my head I screamed.

.

.

.

Although my eyes appeared to be fixed on the book in front of me, from the corners of my vision I discreetly kept tabs on the girl.

That boy, huh?

I'd only seen that orange-haired human once or twice before, but she had seemed friendly towards him.

Suddenly a feeling like intense cold so severe it burned crept in, brushing my skin, as it made the blood in one side of my body run cold. I turned toward the feeling, letting my hand with the book drop into my lap.

What was... this alien feeling? This feeling like stepping into the vast reaches of space where no light or warmth could be found... would ever reach.

There was nothing there that should have given off such a feeling. Only a tall mirror, built into the wall. It appeared ordinary enough, although the surface of the silver glass seemed to reflect too much light, obscuring the view of the room that should have been visible within its surface.

I turned my head toward the fire apparition to see if he felt it too, but as my eyes passed over the room, I noticed that Friday was no longer standing where she had been.

Where...?

A loud crash sounded, accompanied by the musical tinkle of a thousand fragments of glass as they fell to the floor.

My head whipped around toward the sound.

Friday!

What was she...?

Her arm was buried up to the elbow past the remaining fragments of a shattered mirror, fist embedded deep in the wall beyond.

She panted, and as I watched, the glow of her wide eyes went out, revealing a look of terror about them that caused her irises to shake. Beads of nervous sweat rolled down from her hairline and fell from the edges of her face.

Her whole body shook like a leaf, trembling in the fierce winds of a stormy gale. My eyes narrowed. The feeling that I had felt so subtly seemed to have affected her in ways I could not follow, feeding my suspicions that this sensation was caused by no ordinary supernatural activity, no trick of the light, but by something much more sinister. Something that no doubt involved the Sleepers and their unending battle against their strange foes.

Hearing the unnatural sound of the shattering glass, Hati slipped in.

"What's going on back here?" he hissed, wary of being discovered by the few ordinary humans that were still around at this time of night.

"Friday! What are you doing?" Hati yelped before remembering to lower his voice, upon seeing the situation the girl had gotten herself into.

She didn't answer. Just continued trying to catch her breath.

"Well, at any rate," the wolf said with resolution, turning his silver eyes toward me, "That's bound to draw some attention from the shopkeepers soon enough. Let's get her out of here."

I nodded. We walked over to the girl.

She was frozen, immobile as a statue, still staring into the cracked panes that reflected a thousand fragments of her pale face back at her.

As I drew closer, I smelled the sharp tang of blood. With quick eyes, I took stock of the damage.

Her skin had been cut in a lattice of bright red lines by the shards, but fortunately few of them were deep. Still, it would be best to extract her arm from the area with caution.

Hesitantly, my fingers closed in their gentle grip around her cold flesh. I was careful not to touch the openings of the wounds, but my fingertips couldn't avoid the rose-red stain that bloomed from them.

As the sensation of touch reached her, her eyes dropped their wide, staring look as they fixed themselves on mine.

I did my best to look reassuring, although a smile would have felt out of place.

Her gaze slid down to my loose grip, but even though her eyes were met with blood, she did not even flinch once. She seemed as though she barely noticed the pain. I supposed that blood was something of an ordinary occurrence for her now.

Cautiously, I guided her arm out between the pointed knives of glass; she didn't resist.

I had nothing with me that I could wrap the wounds with, so taking up her hand in mine, I placed it over the deepest of the injuries.

"Keep pressure on it," I told her and stepped back.

Hati took her by the corner of her torn jacket and led her away, disappearing out the back of the store.

Hiei followed, but I walked the opposite direction, deeper into the store, searching for Botan.

I found her looking very at home near a display full of various jackets.

Quietly, I came up beside her and spoke in a low tone: "There has been an incident," I reported, "We will be waiting for you in the alley out back."

She looked up with wide, startled eyes.

I, in turn, gave her a small smile. "Don't worry," I told her, "It's nothing serious. Just come out when you finish," I said over my shoulder as I exited the building.

The shop bell tingled behind me as the door latched shut with a click.

As I came around the back, Hati was drilling Friday on what had gone on in the shop.

They sat on a bench under a broken streetlight to keep from attracting any unwanted attention as Hiei methodically bandaged her bloodied arm.

I wondered for a moment where he had procured the wrapping, but soon noticed that his own clean, white bandages that had covered the seal of his dragon were missing.

The corners of my lips twitched up in a fond, bemused smile for the fire apparition. Oh, Hiei. It seemed you did have some friendly feelings toward your teammate after all. Apparently, I wasn't the only one who had gotten soft.

I bit my thumbnail, but a brief chuckle still escaped me, sounding low in my throat as Hiei tied off the ends of the bandage with deft fingers.

He rose from his knee, standing tall at his full height to glare up at me as he came to stand beside me with a disapproving frown, as if daring me to tell him exactly what had me so amused. But I kept my silence, dropping my hands, as they found purchase in my pockets.

I resumed an appearance of quiet, calm dignity, for all the world appearing as though I had never been so amused a moment before.

A serious look came back into my eyes as I focused on the conversation at hand.

"Death..." the girl said, "I felt the coldness of death." Her fingers gripped themselves tightly around the bandaging on her other arm.

Her head was low, her bangs hanging over her eyes as a frown slanted down her mouth.

"It was like I looked at death, and death smiled at me," she whispered, low, and her voice trembled.

"I don't know what happened. I just... just reacted. My body rejected that feeling and before I knew it, well..."

Her fingers loosened their unhealthily tight grip around the bandages that covered her bleeding arm.

"Are you sure? Are you positive that what you felt wasn't just some residual feeling from what happened tonight?"

"No," I interrupted, coming closer to stand before the bench, "I felt it too. Although, perhaps not as strongly. The sent of death was unmistakable... as well as the cold."

"Curious. I can't seem to remember..." Hati trailed off, deep in thought, "My memory is incomplete."

With an ironic sort of smile, he looked up, "When you are as old as I am, there are many things in your memory that are lost to time. And, well... to be honest, we who follow the dream goddess do not often see her enemies who are of a higher caliber. Tsuki-Yomi has not revealed himself to us in a very long time. It is possible..." The wolf lost himself in his musings.

He looked up, resolved, "Let's not rush to conclusions. I will consult the spirit world archives and see if there is anything I can find." Hati said by way of farewell and loped off down the street, disappearing into the darkness.

.

.

.

I sat on the wood slats of the bench, wrapped up in what remained of my jacket.

I supposed it was fortunate in a way, I thought as I eyed the bandage that encircled my arm, that the limb I had injured was the one that already had the sleeve removed from the jacket. Practically speaking, it made it much easier to perform the first aid.

I was grateful to Hiei for that. Maybe he wasn't such an evil demon as he pretended to be, I thought, feeling somewhat amused despite my current circumstance.

Something heavy draped itself over my shoulders, and I looked down, startled. I realized it was the jacket I had seen in the shop window. Automatically, my fingers went up to grip the collar as I pulled it snugly around me.

I turned my head this way and that, tilting it back finally to see the upside down face of a smiling reaper.

Botan walked around the bench and stood in front of me, planting her hands on her hips as she dropped her smile, "Now tell me why is it, exactly, that whenever I take my eyes off you for a second you end up injured?" she demanded to know.

"I'm sorry," I told her, "I suppose I should wait for you next time."

Her hands slipped from her hips and she snorted. "Really," she said, "Sometimes I can't believe the ridiculous things that come out of your mouth."

A small smile hooked up the corner of my lips.

"Do you think we should go look for the boys?" she suddenly said, changing topics as she rested her finger ponderously on her lip.

I shrugged, "Nah. You know them. They're probably off at an arcade somewhere."

She groaned "Oh, I suppose you're right."

I stood and removed my old jacket as I zipped up the new one. I let its warmth engulf me as it became a second, thick skin.

"That looks just like something you'd wear," Botan said as she cocked her head, examining it.

"Well, I _am_ wearing it," I quipped.

"Oh, you have no idea the trouble I went through to find that jacket," Botan grumbled, "Why do they never put the clothes on display next to their mannequin? They're always in some far, dark corner of the store somewhere."

I laughed and flicked her on the nose, "Then thank you for braving those 'dark corners' to find this for me," I said, walking past her as I crumpled up my old, torn jacket and deposited it in the trash.

.

.

.

We passed a building where the lights flashed inside its walls, and the music spilled out onto the street.

As one, our group kept walking, but the persistent beat followed us.

The girl was at the front, but now she stopped and rolled her arms, stretching cramped muscles. Her head turned as if the sound had reached out to tap her on the shoulder unexpectedly.

Then without warning, Friday turned and started to walk away.

"Friday!" Botan yelped.

"What? Yusuke and Kuwabara are off doing their own thing," she responded flatly.

"But..." the reaper protested, holding out a hand as if to stop her.

"Come along if you must. I'm just... tired of thinking," she closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Oh..." Botan groaned, but followed her reluctantly, jogging to catch up.

Over her shoulder, Friday waved back at us, keeping her sights set on the door.

Hiei and I traded a glance. It would seem we were the only ones left. I supposed there wasn't much else to do but return home.

"ID," the bulky man at the entrance said.

I looked up. Friday didn't have any such thing in this world.

But it didn't phase her. The girl just turned her head toward him and glared without a word. That gaze... it looked sharp... dangerous. A small shiver slipped down my spine despite best efforts.

Ah. So it would seem those dark feelings hadn't left her after all, even if she had taken a lighter tone with Botan.

Well, there wasn't much Hiei or I could do for the girl at this point.

Still... that stare of hers...

I turned to Hiei, eyes crinkling with mirth as I questioned jokingly, "It seems her glare is improving. Have you been giving her lessons, Hiei?"

He snorted.

Turning away with his hands in his pockets and walking out of the man's line of sight, he disappeared in a blur.

Friday and Botan had vanished as well, into the crowded building.

I was left alone in the middle of the deserted street.

Well, almost alone.

"Don't tell me you want to be let in too," a deep voice grumbled resentfully, and I turned my head toward the man at the door.

"Ah..." I held my hand up, laughing nervously at the thought, "Actually, I'll just be going now."

The man muttered something under his breath, but I ignored him, looking into the maw of the building where Friday had gone...

Such a place wasn't for me.

.

**AN: Hiei isn't really a jerk. He's just trying to help Friday become stronger even if he's not really the soft-spoken type. See? He even bandaged her arm for her. What a softie...**

**I still have a deviantart account where I will be posting some pictures of characters, etc... to go with this story. Check it out if you want. I'm theanonymouspen . deviantart . com (no spaces) **

Thank you for reading :)

**Preview: Ehe. I still didn't get to that roll of tape. That should be next... I think. See you guys in a couple weeks! Oh, and due to the large number of disappointments over the lack of an awesome fight scene where Friday wipes the floor with Rikyu, you may also get to see a flashback... from Rikyu's pov! Should be interesting, right? (See, I do listen to your feedback)**

**Please REVIEW! **


	41. Pruning

**I am so, so sorry to leave you guys hanging for so long! Rest assured, the story will continue. I thought of it often during my months of absence, and have finally recovered from a nasty bout of writer's block to bring you a chapter that is hopefully deserving of the wait (though maybe not so long a break). Personally, I believe that this chapter was the best option to take to remain on the path of the main plot, and far superior to the other chapters I considered writing in its place, in which Friday was just not Friday. Parts of those chapters may appear from time to time as Friday has developed quite a backstory in the months this story was on unplanned hiatus. Now, the story can resume. **

**Thank you to those of you who have remained with me and still remember this story!**

**I would also like to say thank you to those who reviewed the last chapter: **_**Angel of Randomosity, mrsbeggins, Pelawen Night, SilverMoonKitty, & verry-chan. **_

**Thank you and a cookie to **_**Puppylove7**_**, for making sure I was still alive and working on this story, and **_**wolfcrys**_** for writing so many reviews. My mind is boggled.**

_**. . .**_

"_**S**__ome things just couldn't be protected from storms. Some things simply needed to be broken off... Once old things were broken off, amazingly beautiful things could grow in their place__**." ― Denise Hildreth Jones**_

_**. . .**_

"You look like hell," Koa quoted Rikyu's own words back at him sardonically.

"Shut up," Rikyu shot back, as he coughed up blood yet again, flecks of bright red staining the white fabric of his elegant pants that had been torn and dirtied.

Those eyes... those eyes of hers, they had pierced right through the murky depths of his soul.

"I don't believe the humans have heard of a rakshuan," Koa commented lightly to the man sitting curled over on the ground, arms around his crushed midsection. The commander looked down on him with ice-blue eyes.

"I told you that woman wasn't good for you..." Koa's murmur barely penetrated the silence as his pale eyes took on an unfathomable look.

Rikyu raised his head with a sour expression, blood still trickling from the corner of his frowning mouth. He glared at the man standing over him, but his thoughts took him back to that moment. The dreadful instant where _she_ had rounded the corner and caught him and the man-boy he had been playing with.

It could hardly be called a rakshuan, the ceremonial fight of two willing suitors, when the one he was placed against was no competition at all. That orange-haired brat had never stood a chance.

Why couldn't she see that he was stronger, better, than that pathetic human being?

Besides, a woman fighting her own suitor in the middle of a rakshuan... well, that was simply unheard of. Bad etiquette, as it were.

In his mind's eye, he ran over the events of hours past, trying to determine what had gone wrong. This was not how things were supposed to be...

_Rikyu jumped back, evading swiftly as her glowing fist crashed into the wall behind him, shattering it with a sickening crunch. That had nearly been him, he thought, in a moment of blind panic. _

_He retreated into the air, but before he knew it, she was right there in front of him. He contorted, twisting to avoid the dangerous glow that spilled from her body, illuminating her flesh between her bones from the inside out. _

_Her trajectory brought her flying past him, but at the last second, she flipped, feet contacting the tall building's side. She let out a feral growl as she landed, and with a snarling roar launched herself from the vertical wall without a second's hesitation. _

_Beneath her, the concrete seemed to melt away in a growing arc, dissolved by the brilliant light. _

_As she pelted toward him, the light gathered around her arms, and as her limbs lashed out, the light raced from them like so many whips. _

_His breath came in bursts as he focused all his thoughts on evading. Even the sky, it seemed, was no longer safe for him. _

_Rikyu was brought to the ground. He crouched low as he waited, estimating her trajectory. _

_All around him, the thick poles, leafless trees that sported black vines for their interconnecting branches came crashing down, causing the earth to shake. The black vines snapped and crackled with life, sparking as they writhed along the ground._

_The lights went out. _

_All that was left before him, illuminating his field of vision was his Sleeper. Cold, terrifying, bright. _

_And there was nowhere he could run. _

_She crashed into him, and he brought his arms up, crossing them over his chest to shield his vitals. _

_Together, they carved a deep trench in the pavement. _

_He screamed, eyes rolling back in his head as he desperately sent all the energy he could spare to summon up a portal that would provide him with a safe haven from this rage-fueled hunter. _

_The pain ate into him with such a sharp sting that it took him a minute to realize that he had gotten away. Panting, sweat trailing down from his brow, his body trembled as he laid prone on the black tiled ground, cheek pressed against the cold floor. _

_Slowly, a pool of crimson began to bloom beneath him, stretching out its liquid petals. _

_He brought his hands up to push himself to sitting. His limbs trembled and he barely left the ground before he came crashing down once more. No good. He coughed, and the blood trickled down his chin. _

_Rikyu let his arms slide back to his sides, palms facing up into the gloom. _

_Eerily glowing tendrils of sickly-looking light soon sprouted from the ground to envelop him, their long, thin threads probing his wounds as they began their slow work of healing. _

_Vision swimming, he closed his yellow eyes. _

_How had this happened?_

.

.

.

I sat on the porch of Genkai's temple, looking out over the dark trees on a white landscape. I wasn't particularly waiting for anything; it was nice, from time to time, to simply sit with the sliding doors open and let the chill of the winter air numb me to my core.

But I was already numb anyway. It made little difference.

Alone, I turned the half-used roll of tape over in my hands as I stared through it. Why did I do this? It was like pouring salt on a wound, but I couldn't help myself. I think I wanted to feel the sting.

"Oi," a voice startled me out of my burning contemplation, as it shocked my eyes into growing wide as my hands stilled their restless motion.

Before I could stop myself, I had looked up, though I already knew what I would see.

It was Shimabukuro. I mean, it was really him. Not a look alike, or a scrap of orange flying by in the breeze. It was Shimabukuro, whole and complete, if a bit worse for the wear. And he was standing here before me.

With huge, wondering eyes, I stared up at him, drinking the image in like a man in a desert, parched and dying of thirst, who had stumbled upon an oasis in the middle of a barren wasteland.

My moment of reverie didn't last long. I had the sudden urge to run, but my legs dangled off the edge of the porch without solid purchase, halting me long enough that I managed to remain still.

"I'm sorry about leaving... the other day," Shimabukuro said to me, as he caught my eyes with a deep look. It wasn't hard to believe he was sincere.

I turned my head away, and the silence stretched out between us. There was a subtle creak of floorboards as he settled down beside me. On the edge of my field of vision, I could see his legs as they dangled next to mine, our jeans side by side. The same on the outside; deceptively similar for all that we were too different to survive sharing one space.

My knuckles clenched around the roll of tape in my hands. It was cold outside, but suddenly I was warm. Too warm. I was burning; the beads of sweat began to gather on the back of my neck, cloying. I could sense him beside me like a roaring fire. I, a witch finally found out, awaiting my burning day.

Where was the judgement? Why had he come back to me? After all this, it wasn't right; it wasn't fair.

Could it be... he really meant what he said. The apology was the end of it? All that he came to say?

There was to be no judgement, not this day.

I wanted to turn to him, to look into his gentle eyes. With an effort of will, I kept my head down, and stared at my hands in my lap. I wanted to throw my arms around him. Clenching my muscles, I kept my arms locked to my side. I wanted to tell him that no, _I_ was the one who was sorry. So, so sorry... I stayed my tongue.

He was ready to erase the blame.

I could not forgive myself.

If I looked at him, my eyes would burn in their own light. If I put my arms around him, they would crush him. If I opened my mouth, he would hear the truth.

All I could do was endanger him.

All I _had_ done was endanger him. Over and over again, I had selfishly kept him at my side, refusing to let go, until the day came when he was bruised and bleeding...

But the time had come now. He was never mine to keep.

Hesitantly, I slid the roll of tape over to him, across the wooden floorboards that separated us. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him take it, white-knuckled.

I drowned, silent in my solitary despair.

Time passed. I'm not sure how, when the whole world seemed to be crashing down around me, did the shadows of the trees continue to shift subtly with the passage of the sun. But they did. Indifferent, the world turned on and on.

Shimabukuro stood, and I felt the vacant gap he left beside me.

"Have it your way. I can see you aren't going to talk to me..." his too-calm voice interrupted my chaotic jumble of thoughts.

There was a brief shuffle and click, and within a moment the dirty smell of smoke and nicotine drifted through the air to tug at my nose. Shimabukuro... was smoking?

What had I done to him, that his resemblance to his worldly boss would become so shockingly apparent in such a brief time? Shimabukuro was too good for that. Where was the boy who was so tough on the outside... but so surprisingly soft on the inside?

I wondered if he had picked up any new tattoos.

My eyes went flat, emotionless. I could not slip now and show my concern, or I would not be able to let him go. What's more, it would make it that much harder for him to leave here. I wouldn't allow myself to make this any harder for him.

"Take care," his voice whispered tenderly, sending with it a new whiff of smoke. A gentle hand reached out to ruffle my hair, fingers soothing.

My eyes widened, but I resolutely continued to look away, hiding words I could not say.

His footsteps receded down the walkway.

My heart jumped to my throat.

No... It couldn't end this way.

Suddenly desperate, I choked out his name around the beating lump in my throat.

"Shimabukuro..." the word was quiet. It didn't sound nearly as urgent as it had felt, bubbling up from the pit of my stomach. I continued to stare at the wall, although I heard him stop.

This was a game I could only play if I left my burning eyes out of it.

He turned abruptly. I could feel the surprise radiating from him, as he registered that I'd used his real name... for once. It seemed fitting, here at the end.

He wasn't mine to keep.

My hands were folded calmly in my lap as I continued to look away.

"Do you want..." I paused and willed my voice not to break, "To forget it all?" I managed to force the words past my lips. I didn't know what it would cost me to ask Hiei for this favor, but...

Shimabukuro laughed a little, splitting the silence. The uncrossable distance between us suddenly seemed so short a space.

"What kind of a question is that?" he snorted, rejecting it completely and immediately. Did he think it was a ridiculous proposition, nothing more than wishful thinking? After all he had seen, surely it wasn't that hard to believe such an option would stand before him.

Or was it... maybe... that he felt the way I did? That he had the will to keep these painful, precious memories inside.

But I couldn't be sure. He had to know the options he was entitled to: "I can ask someone - - "

A long exhale cut me off, as his sigh filled the air with smoke. "You silly, silly girl. There are things inside my head that I would like to keep." I bristled briefly when he called me that, but he sounded sad, and there was enough affection in his voice that I couldn't get offended, not really.

The heavy air between us slowly filled with smoke and silence.

"And so we return to the way we were... huh," he murmured quietly.

I couldn't answer.

My eyes closed as I listened to his muffled footsteps fade away into the distance, taking Shimabukuro further away from me with each step. It was for the best, after all...

Enough time had passed that he should have reached the bottom of the stone steps; his footsteps dwindled to silence.

Unable to help myself now that I was sure he was gone, I risked a longing look toward the top of the stairs, where the boy with the bright orange hair had disappeared from my life forever.

I blinked, wide eyes swimming with unspoken emotions. He was still standing there, smoking... and waiting.

He waved slowly. A small, crooked smile lingered wearily on his handsome face.

I rested my head in my hands, defeated.

"He knew I would look..." I muttered to myself gruffly, although my lips couldn't help their upward stretch at the corners.

You jerk... Why do you always... make me smile?

His back vanished down the stairs, and I watched until the last flash of orange had disappeared from my sight. I heaved a heavy sigh as my smile left with him, and let myself collapse back onto the wooden floorboards. I traced the grains in the ceiling with my eyes. There was no point in fighting tears; none would come either way. So I just stared upward with a blank look on my face.

"Are you alright, Kuronosuke-san?" a timid voice interrupted.

I tilted my head back to look at the hesitant ice maiden in the inner doorway, her brow creased in concern.

"Jeez," I complained gruffly, "What an awful lot of trouble over one dumb roll of tape."

But Yukina knew. There was no point in hiding from her.

I swallowed my pride with a sigh.

"Emotional pain only lasts twelve minutes. I'll survive," I told her dully, dropping the tough act. I folded my hands over my stomach and made myself remain still, so that even my eyes were frozen in their sockets. I would will it to be so. Anything longer would be self-inflicted.

I would learn my lesson and move on. Until then, I would not think, would not move, would do nothing but lay here and feel.

Twelve minutes to burn.

It seemed like a short time really, to atone for such an egregious error.

I stared up at the ceiling grain and breathed the residual smoke that hung in the air.

.

.

.

We approached the temple stairs slowly, none overly eager for training.

Yusuke and Kuwabara bickered as they walked ahead.

Botan commented on the crisp morning air. I hummed in response.

Hiei walked silently by my side.

The click of Hati's toenails brought up the rear.

A boy with shockingly orange hair passed us going down, and six pairs of eyes turned independently to glance at the tanned and tattooed stranger leaving Genkai's with a cigarette between his lips and roll of tape in his hand.

Yusuke and Kuwabara stopped and tensed, having never seen the boy before, but he just stared ahead as he passed calmly by our group, shoulders slouched in a relaxed position.

The rest looked over their shoulders at his retreating form, but I gazed blankly at the stone steps before me as I thought.

"Who was that guy?" Yusuke grumbled suspiciously.

"Hmm..." Botan put a finger to her chin, "I've seen him around here before. He's Friday's friend... probably."

"Ooooh," Yusuke dragged the sound out as a smirk spread across his face, "A 'friend', huh?"

I closed my eyes.

That half-used roll of tape... the girl had had it back then, too, at that meeting.

When had I become so unperceptive?

"Kurama," a sharp voice caused my eyelids to slide open.

I stared at Hiei, a few steps above me, and at my teammates who had already reached the top.

"Sorry," I smiled with a hint of sheepishness as I apologized to the impatient fire apparition.

He just grunted and turned away. We caught up to the sauntering others quickly enough.

.

.

.

"I swear, if you two are having attractive boys over to the temple and not inviting me..." Botan burst out as she entered said building.

Yukina put her hand on the ferry girl's arm and shook her head with serious ruby eyes.

Botan trailed off, her eyebrows coming together in a puzzled look as she sorted out Yukina's odd behavior.

Spirit detective, Yusuke Urameshi, however, did not notice anything out of the ordinary as he approached the girl laying utterly still on the floor, purple hair splayed about her.

"Yo, Friday. It's training time. Wake up," he called to her, though her eyes were open. She stared resolutely past the face he inserted into her field of vision.

"Just give me a minute..." she said. Her voice sounded hollow.

Yusuke grumbled as he came back towards us.

I shrugged as he looked at me. "It wouldn't hurt to wait a moment. Besides, I don't think we could pull Kuwabara away just yet," I reasoned, throwing my emerald gaze toward the boy who was busy greeting Yukina enthusiastically.

Yusuke grumbled some more, but plopped down on the couch, lolling his head on a fist as he propped his elbow up on the arm of the seat.

"Perhaps some tea while we wait," I brought Botan out of her inquisitive thoughts before she could get too far along in her puzzling.

"Yes... Of course," she said, though she still sounded distant.

I followed her to the kitchen, assisting in getting the cups down from the shelf while she automatically put the water on to boil.

A few minutes later we had all gathered together, tea in hand, with the exception of Friday, who still hadn't moved.

Mechanically, the girl suddenly sat up, as if to the sound of some silent signal which only she could hear. She did not say a word as she tugged on her jacket and a pair of battered Converse that stood by the door.

"I'm heading out," she spoke in a detached tone.

"Alright," Yusuke slammed his cup down, leaving it half-emptied, "It's about time."

She ignored him and stepped out off the ledge to the white ground beneath. Friday began crunching her way uphill into the forest, where the undisturbed snow lay in a thin sheet over the land.

I drank the last of the liquid in my cup and followed, oddly chilled despite its warmth.

.

.

.

_Crack!_

My Converse drove hard into Yusuke's side.

He clutched the damaged area and rounded on me. "Hey! You wanna watch it, Friday?" the detective yelled, "The point of training isn't to make me _weaker_ before we head out tonight! Jeez... I think you fractured a rib there."

I bit my lip, letting my guard drop as my hands fell to my sides.

"Sorry," I muttered to the boy, "I think I'll sit this one out."

I left the clearing where the guys were training in favor for the one adjacent. If I trained by myself I couldn't hurt anyone. Besides, I was too out of it to play by the rules and hold myself back.

I drilled basic moves, quasi martial arts, abandoning my mind in favor of the thoughtless rhythm, the deadly dance.

I was alone here. Nonetheless, my mind conjured up images of others as if I needed to fill the space.

A boy with orange hair popped up in my memory. I pushed him roughly away, timing it to a sweep of my arms as I cut through the empty air before me.

The slight cover of snow was trampled under my feet, in places tinged with mud as the pressure of my weight melted what had once been frozen.

Blood surged through my veins. My adrenaline levels rose, and with them the feelings of residual anger. They seemed to have been bound inescapably together.

Other faces started dancing in my vision.

Koa... my lips tightened as I stared at the dark-haired commander with the frozen eyes. I banished his image with a kick, a faintly glowing trail of light fading away in its passage.

Suddenly, another image appeared before me. But this one wasn't like the others.

It burned under my skin, as clear as if he were really standing before me.

Rikyu.

My anger pushed me over the precipice, giving a vicious edge to my repetitive motion as I lashed out with a light that flared up brightly from within me.

He disappeared.

But the commander refused to be banished like the rest. Again and again, he cropped up in the clearing.

To the side. With glowing fingers I raked a trail through his head.

Feeling his presence behind me now, I turned, as the light formed more distinct sheaths extending from my fingers, holding their own in the air like claws.

I slashed toward his neck as my head whipped around.

It was Kurama.

The extensions of light dissolved as I blinked in a groggy sort of shock, brain scrambling to catch up with the fact that this man before me was, in fact, not the commander who had so spiked my anger.

I was frozen in place, my hand still extended towards his neck, though now it was bare of any threat.

It would be polite to say something, perhaps apologize. "Sorr - - Huh?" Something had snaked around me.

I looked down, surprised to see a whip wrapped around my middle.

What was the meaning of this? A brief swell of panic welled up in me as I recalled the only other time I had been in this deadly situation. "What - - ?" my voice rose in strength and pitch.

"You're looking for someone to fight. Don't hold back," he said in a low voice, filled with a calm, quiet promise, "I won't go easy on you."

A thrill charged up my spine as the coils of the whip dropped from around me at his command.

I jumped back immediately, surveying him with a measured look.

We sparred like I had not done with the others before. Immediately, I could feel the difference. Yusuke and Kuwabara could not bring themselves to fight a teammate too seriously, especially not if that teammate was of the opposite gender.

Kurama had no such qualms. He fought coldly, calculating, and I knew that he swung his arm with deadly intent. But that was alright; it only made me move all the faster.

My mind locked into the exercise, focusing in on nothing but the fight until all other thoughts faded away. I could not let myself fall into patterns with this one, or he would surely take advantage of my complacency.

As I dodged and lashed out, taking chunks off the whip with blazing claws, the thought occurred to me that this was not so terrifying as the last time I had faced his whip. It was not strictly by virtue of the fact that I had improved my own strength, either. There had been a change in him.

Kurama lashed out with deadly intent, but he would not kill me. Once he gained the upper hand, he would surely stop and go no further.

I would not let him gain the upper hand.

The green cord lengthened, rebuilding itself even as it rushed toward me. I was ready.

I stepped out of the way: running, slicing, jumping.

Our feet pounded the snow into mud until it filled the clearing with a discolored slush. The slick liquid splattered up my jeans as I ran.

He nicked my shoulder. It was shallow, but he had taken first blood.

I growled, irritated with myself despite the knowledge that he was far more experienced than I.

It happened faster than I would have imagined. The irritation swelled out of my control to become anger, and the anger quickly clothed itself in the image of Rikyu. Somewhere behind my eyes, he was on every sensory channel. I could not turn him off.

My blood boiled, my eyes tingled with light. I clenched my jaw as I slid around him, dodging and rushing in with a feral growl.

He bobbed before me now, taunting, smiling, as if to say that I could not touch him.

But he underestimated the unadulterated hatred I had for him.

"Why won't you just... disappear!" I howled as I slammed my fist toward his mocking face, hand sheathed in solid light.

He caught my fist before it made contact.

The touch that should have brought with it Dark Rikyu instead revealed Kurama to my wild eyes. Abruptly, the glow that had blinded me faded. I realized I was panting hard for the first time, more out of shock at what I had done than my escalated emotions.

My hand in his was shaking.

Appalled, I stared past my fist into his deep green eyes, certain that the redhead would think I had finally gone insane, unhinged...

He simply looked back at me with a measured expression as his emerald eyes continued their silent watch on mine.

I shuddered uncontrollably, feeling the cold deep into my bones.

What had I done?

It was a good thing my teammate had strong energy of his own to defend himself with, an energy that mine had little effect on, as I had gone after him with a pure intent to kill.

I waited for the berate. He said nothing, and slowly I grew to realize that not only were his eyes calm, they looked at me with _understanding_.

He knew it wasn't really him that I had been fighting in those last minutes; he saw that my burning eyes had looked straight through him. He knew this had progressed far beyond anything that could ever disguise itself as "training."

Kurama must have seen the understanding reflected in my own eyes, because he let go of my fist. Numb, my hand fell limp to my side.

"Ku - - " I was so shocked that I almost said his name.

"It's starting to get rather chilly out here, isn't it, Miss Kuronosuke?" he interrupted smoothly, nonchalantly shifting his gaze up to the sky, "I'll inform the others that we are done training, shall I?"

It wasn't really a question. Without waiting for an answer, he slipped away through the trees.

Feeling guilty and wishing only for a place I could crawl under a rock and hide a while, I hurriedly left in the opposite direction, walking continuously uphill away from the temple. I left a clear trail behind me in the snow, but held onto my rather futile hope that he would just let it go.

I continued on until my legs failed me, which was honestly shorter than I would care to admit. I put my back against the trunk of a gnarled, old tree and looked up at the network of branches that twined above my head.

Happy birds went about their business, hopping from branch to branch, chirping their hellos...

Suddenly overcome with a bout of irrational, childish feelings, my brow creased together severely. Why should anyone else be happy when I was slowly falling apart, miserable and tortured by the demons in my own head? Why should they have rest when I was so restless?

My fingers curled, digging into the cold snow as I tilted my head back against the tree and released a frustrated shout, its growling undertone lost in the startled commotion as the birds took off from their hidden perches around me, rising up as one in a mass of beating wings against the bright sky. They squawked a chorus of alarm.

I deflated.

This was so stupid.

And besides, Kurama was sure to find me now, not that he couldn't just follow the footprints I'd left behind me plain as day. I hadn't bothered to hide them from him. He was a better tracker than I'd ever be, besides.

If effort was doomed from the start, why try, right? It only leads to trouble. Trust me, I know.

I closed my eyes as I left my head resting against the tree trunk, knuckles in the snow and curled fingers toward heaven.

Over time, I grew aware of a silent presence that stood silently behind me, a few feet off to my right.

I didn't know how long Kurama had been there, but I wasn't going to gratify him by acting surprised now.

The minutes passed, and still he said nothing, until I figured I had better acknowledge him.

Slowly, I stood, brushing myself off as best I could, though the backs of my jeans were mostly soaked through by now. I realized belatedly that I could feel very little of my rear, as iced as it had gotten.

But being numb wasn't so bad. It was the thawing out that was going to hurt.

Although I stared unfocused into the distance, a splash of pale pink in the middle of the greyscale landscape caught my eye. Unthinking, my feet drew me toward the dark branch it stemmed from.

"The snow is finally starting to melt..." I mused into the silence, as I stared at the solitary bloom.

Kurama didn't respond, but he shifted with a quiet rustle of fabric, and I knew he had heard.

By its own accord, my hand raised to brush the tiny flower blossom, which had defiantly bloomed all alone even in the midst of these harsh conditions.

But no sooner had I touched it than it fell from its delicate perch.

A small exclamation of mild surprise escaped me. I bit my lip. It seemed everything I touched these days fell apart rather splendidly.

"Don't feel bad," he spoke, and his voice was much closer over my shoulder than I had expected; I hadn't heard him move at all. I refrained from flinching - - barely.

"The early blossom is often the first to fall," he mused in a proverbial sort of way.

Still worrying my lip, I looked at the bold bloom on the white ground. I supposed in a little while there would be many to replace it. And, blooming as one, they would make the tree so vibrant that this single blossom would hardly matter anymore, would surely be dwarfed and paled in comparison.

It had blossomed valiantly, but it had been doomed from the start, it seemed. Still, it held on until a slip on my part had pushed it over the edge. Now look what had become of it.

I sighed. "I don't suppose we could tape it back together?" I asked after a pause.

"Tape...?" he questioned, and I could almost hear the raised eyebrow.

"Heh. Nevermind. It's nothing, really..." I rubbed the back of my neck with a cold hand, suddenly feeling acutely embarrassed.

He let the subject drop, but I wondered what thoughts had blossomed in his sharp mind.

"I am returning now, if you would like to walk with me?" Kurama asked.

And this time it seemed it really was a question, for he stood waiting, hands warm in his jacket pockets, for me to respond.

"Mmm-hmmm," I hummed slowly, nodding once in affirmation. There really wasn't much to say.

He turned, trusting me to follow, and led us a different direction from the trail of crushed snow. I assumed we were taking a more direct route.

It was a silent trip back, with only the crunching of our - - well, the crunching of my - - footsteps to fill it. We skirted the edge of a rather large pond I had never seen before; it was frozen over. A few rocks broke the surface as they reached above the waterline.

I broke away from my silent teammate's side. Carelessly, I balanced on the tops of the rocks just within the water's edge as I paralleled Kurama's path around the still pool, ignoring his disapproving look.

I didn't really need to, but I held my arms out away from my sides to stabilize myself anyway as I hopped from rock to rock.

A flicker of movement in the smooth, dark ice of the pond caught my eye, mid-jump.

There was someone moving in the ice!

Startled, I twisted, looking down into the reflective surface I had just crossed over.

But this rock was not like the others.

Kurama must have realized it before I did. Even as my foot hit the rock's icy surface and I fell toward the strange reflection in the ice, he was standing above me on the rocks, his hand reaching out.

The world seemed to pass by unnaturally slowly as I fell. I looked down. Our reflections were nowhere; the surface of the ice was blank, glinting strangely in the light of the pale rays of sunlight.

He was only quick enough to catch hold of my elbow as I continued to fall, taking him with me as I broke through the thawing ice, dragging him down into the depths of the cold, black water.

.

**AN: Well, school's in full swing, so I can no longer promise weekly updates, but I do promise that I will update more frequently than my last unplanned hiatus now that I'm back on track concerning where I'm going with all this. **

**The next chapter should be up real soon since it just needs a little proofreading. (Yay! It's actually written) Check back soon!**

**While you wait, may I suggest a couple books I've read since then: **_The Blue Sword_ by Robin McKinley has quickly become one of my absolute favorite books, and the more recent _Divergent_ by Veronica Roth is also quite good.

And not that anyone is interested in my **random, assorted music playlist**, but I have rediscovered AFI and that certainly took me back to my high school days. I would also recommend Panic! At the Disco's album _A Fever You Can't Sweat Out_ (Nails for Breakfast, Tacks for Snacks, anyone?) and Sick Puppies' songs _Riptide_ & _**You're Going Down**_ (which totally makes me think of a **Friday vs Rikyu** **theme**, haha) if anyone has time to kill...

**While I'm recommending things**, _Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood_ was much better than the previous series, for those of you who were as stricken by that ending as I was. Promise I'll shut up now. Carry on...

I still have a deviantart account where I will be posting some pictures of characters, etc... to go with this story. Check it out if you want. I'm theanonymouspen . deviantart . com (no spaces)

Thank you for reading :)

**(P.S. I know there is a certain reader in particular who will probably tear my head off for leaving for so long. AofR, if you're reading this, my personal apologies to you. You have followed me to the ends of the internet (or at least deviantart) and I hate to disappoint!)**

**Preview: Something happens! And it's shocking! ... Or something. On with your life...**

**But please ****REVIEW**** first! ('kay?)**


	42. Vulnerable

**YAY! Hit another hundred-page mark at 400 pages! I'm so proud of myself for actually accomplishing something (still not finished, shouldn't jinx myself just yet). Seriously, though, I couldn't have done it without all your wonderful support. I'm notorious for not finishing projects, but you guys faithfully encourage me with each update and even sometimes in between. Cookies for all!**

_**Thank you to mrsbeggins, Angel of Randomosity, Puppylove7, Mekia, wolfcrys, Isabella of the Night, verry-chan, Skyla15699, and akasoeki for reviewing!**_

**Also, I feel I must give a warning that there is some nudity in this chapter. It is not really intended to be inappropriate, and I hope it doesn't make anyone overly uncomfortable. I simply thought it was the best way to convey the feelings of vulnerability (hence the title) that I wanted to express here.**

**And yeah, this is the right chapter, even if the beginning seems incongruent with the end of the last one... **

_**. . .**_

"_**O**__ne of the saddest sounds in the world is children playing. There is just something about sitting in your room with your windows open, listening to their joy and laughter. It's like there is some sort of magic going on outside that you can no longer join in on. Something you can no longer grasp. A secret club you can't remember the password to. And you realize that you've grown up__**." ― unknown**_

_**. . .**_

The sunlight was shining in through my window as I opened my eyes to my room back home.

Feeling disoriented, I spun slowly around in the room's center, drinking in the familiar scene. I watched the motes of dust sparkle like gold in the streaming beam of sun that left an elongated patch on the carpet before my feet.

It was quiet.

I walked to the door and cracked it open, hesitantly stepping out into the hall at the top of the stairs.

Purple hair fell around my shoulder as I craned my head around, searching for a familiar face.

"Mom?" I called into the unnatural silence.

"Dad? Kaiya?" my unanswered calls slowly dwindled to a whisper, "Dale?"

My ears rang with the sheer and total silence that was my only response.

All the doors of the bedrooms in the hall were closed, except for mine.

I crept haltingly down the stairs away from them, still looking around me for any sign of my family.

Everything was as I remembered it; the living room was clean and organized... But no, I realized, there was no Christmas tree in the corner, no lights or stockings. Of course there weren't. The holiday had long since passed by.

I tiptoed silently across the room to the kitchen, thinking that at least Mr. Persnickety might be found watching his food dish, as cats were known to do.

Still. Silent. Same.

Puzzled now, I crossed the hall to the garage door, pulling it open with a determined air. There was no car inside.

I was truly alone.

I turned, not knowing quite what to do, shutting the door behind me.

Pulled by a feeling I couldn't describe, I followed my feet to the front door and turned the latch. The small wind-chime on the handle sounded as the door swung open.

Miles and miles of grassy fields stretched out before me where my street should have been. The suburban houses, the neighbor's mailboxes, the city telephone wires... all gone.

Here and there, the green had been dotted with patches of colorful flowers - - yellow, orange, pink - - all growing up cheerfully together.

I blinked into the bright daylight.

A delicate clink caused me to turn my head.

At a table set with tea for two sat the Dream Goddess in all her splendor.

She caught my gaze, and the corners of her eyes crinkled up with a smile.

Extending her hand in a gentle sweeping motion, she said in a tinkling voice, "Please... sit with me."

I obeyed without hesitation, still marveling over the complete majesty of her appearance. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I continued to analyze, thinking of how much clearer this vision was than the one before it, how much more real it seemed. Her voice came through to me in full now, no longer muffled behind an invisible curtain that separated us.

"Tea?" she offered politely, as she dropped a cube of sugar in and poured the cream on top, exactly the way I liked it.

She slid the porcelain teacup across the table to me and I took it in my hands absently.

With wondering brown eyes, I continued to stare openly across at the dream goddess.

She sipped her tea in silence, and a light breeze sent her gauzy dress rippling around her, bright stars twinkling out of the dusky blue fabric as it moved. She was stunning in contrast to the ordinary setting, the bright daytime field of flowers. The grass moved slowly, in time with the wind.

Yet all of it possessed the same, supernatural quality that wove them together into a single tapestry. One thread flowed flawlessly into the next. They belonged here as one.

"Where are we?" I finally asked, turning to watch the boundless sea of flowering grass.

"It is difficult to explain," she responded, "But I suppose you could say that we are nowhere, really."

I nodded my head. Her answer made no sense by any rational measurements, but those things did not belong here in this place. It truly was, as she said, nowhere in particular.

There was no hurry.

I slowly sipped my tea. When the cup had emptied, I set it down on its saucer and turned to address her.

"So why am _I_ here?" I asked, knowing she would not consider the question to be rude in the slightest.

The dream goddess hesitated for a moment before answering, as she stared out over the field. "I was hoping for a chance to speak with you again," she said, although she did not sound as though she had expected to see me so soon, like there was some speech she was not yet prepared to give.

"But I suppose you could say that you are here to rest and recover your strength," she pursed her lips in a thoughtful frown. I wondered vaguely if she was evading something.

"Recover my strength?" I asked in confusion. Something tugged at the back of my mind, something urgent that I had been doing before... all this.

She turned her head to smile at me. "I cannot keep you here forever," she told me, "But it may well be that something you discover here would help you in your struggles out in the world. And I can, at least, give you a brief moment of reprieve. Yes... that is the least I can do. You are not yet ready..."

Her words dwindled away as she stared out at the horizon with distant eyes, but still I looked at the side of her face, trying to make sense of all that she was saying.

It seemed a strange event, simply to sit and have tea with a goddess, like such an encounter should have a grander purpose. But I supposed I did feel more peaceful... fortified, somehow.

A far-off cacophony of laughter caught my ear and I looked out over the meadow once more. Children ran together across the field in a small group, dancing through the flowers. They smiled as they played together, so carefree and earnest. I watched them with a curious feeling of longing that welled up inside.

"Do you want to join them?" the goddess' quiet voice asked me. Startled, I looked over at her, not realizing that she had turned to study me.

I paused and frowned, not knowing the answer. True, I did feel a dull ache that pulled my heart toward them. Every fiber of my being seemed to stretch their direction.

But could I really join them? These children, so innocent and naive, unburdened and free of care.

I pursed my lips. No, I did not think I could. Not after all these eyes had seen, and all these hands had done.

The longing took on a keen edge that was shockingly similar to mourning, as if I had only just realized in hindsight the part of me that had died so long ago.

The children began to fade away as they moved further out of sight among the field of bright flowers.

I clutched the empty teacup in my hands but remained, the answer in my eyes. Where they went, I could not follow. They frolicked here and there, as if they were mere wisps of cloud, but I was heavy with cares, forever earthbound.

"We all must grow up eventually," she said to me, as they disappeared completely from sight, "Although, it can be a painful process, where many precious things are left behind."

My brow furrowed together. "Growing up sucks," I grumbled, for a moment forgetting my company.

But she just laughed, a sad, breathy sound. It wasn't particularly demeaning or even amused. She laughed in a way that said there was nothing that could be done about it, but endure.

Growing up was never fun. Neither was it bad. It just... happened.

We all succumbed to it eventually.

The sense of urgency prodded the back of my memory. Unlike those children, I could not be free of my cares, but I simply couldn't remember what it was I was supposed to be caring about.

"Where was I?" I asked, not having to elaborate. She would understand.

"I believe you were falling," she responded calmly, quietly, examining me with an unfathomable look in her deep, dark eyes.

I jumped suddenly to my feet, feeling the strong need to return to the world I had left.

That was right... I had left Kurama at the pond! What had happened since then?

"How do I - - ?" I began, rushing through my words.

But she stood, the motion cutting me off with an accompanying scrape of her chair as it was pushed back away from her flowing garments. At an unseen signal, her world began to fade around me, shifting into the blackness.

It was a very familiar sensation, but it took me a moment to put my finger on it. This shifting, being pulled away... it was much like waking up in my "dream world" had been, only the feeling was flipped, reversed somehow. It had been a long time since I'd woken up anywhere.

"I cannot go where you must..." the dream goddess' words whispered through the boundless silence, "But I will be watching over you always."

That promise, again...

.

.

.

It was black and cold.

Where was I? Was this the water that I had fallen into?

No...

I opened my eyes with great effort. A pale light filtered in around me, but it did not resemble the sun.

Groaning, I tried to push myself to sitting. My arms did not want to cooperate, but with enough willpower one can accomplish anything.

I blinked, looking around me.

The cold had been radiating outward from a smooth stone floor beneath me, the rock a murky grey color under my hands and shins.

A square wall of glass rose from the ground in front of me, and as I looked through it, I was surprised to see I was not alone.

Staring back at me was a girl, kneeling on the ground as she faced my direction.

She was not much younger than me, but her large, brown eyes stared into mine with a bewildered kind of innocence that I was certain did not resemble mine in the slightest.

A curtain of white-blonde hair hung down past her shoulders to the small of her back.

Most startling of all, she didn't have a thread on her.

I blinked, and blinked again. I opened my mouth to ask if she was cold. Of course she would be; it was freezing in here. If she had clothes, she would surely be wearing them.

The girl had also begun to say something, but stopped.

I looked at her curiously, and she stared, bewildered, back.

My eyes widened in sudden understanding and shock, and hers grew impossibly larger to reflect mine, though her expressions were muted, lacking the same urgency as my own.

Oh no... oh no, no, no.

This wasn't a pane of glass. It was a mirror.

That girl was me... somehow.

I thought she looked familiar. She had aged a bit since the last time I saw her with a full head of blonde hair, but it was undoubtedly her.

She had that same dumfounded look of baffled, wide-eyed innocence that I had left behind.

I hated those brown eyes: senselessly trusting, unquestioning...

Why was she here? Why had she come back now? I thought I'd gotten rid of that childish side of me for good long ago.

Suddenly alarmed, I looked down. Was I...?

Relief bubbled up within me as I saw that I still wore my same jacket and jeans - - even if they were a little damp. I pulled at the strands of my hair, overcome by a sudden urge to make sure I was still the same person as I had been this morning. Purple threads slipped through my fingers and I sighed, relief palpable on my tongue.

I let my hair part evenly, falling over my shoulders to at least give my reflection the pretense of decency as the white strands covered her chest.

Staring a moment, I noticed how utterly pale she looked. She didn't even have the angry scars across her stomach to bring some color to her washed-out form, this other me.

I frowned and looked away, down at my hand curled into a fist on the floor.

There was a movement in the mirror in front of me that did not match mine, and I looked up.

A couple feet beyond the girl sat a pale creature I hadn't noticed before, so similar to the surrounding colors it was. The silver canine looked deliberately into my eyes through the mirror, as if it was being careful not to let its gaze wander.

I frowned at the strange creature and looked around me, trying to discover a way out.

The room was a cage of silver mirrors.

To the left and the right were square walls identical to the one in front of me, a single, smooth panel, uninterrupted.

The girl looked back at me as I turned my head, searching the other mirrors. The sleek dog averted its gaze purposefully away.

I looked above, but even the ceiling was blocked over with a sheet of silver looking-glass.

Finally looking behind me into the rest of the small, box-like room, I searched over my shoulder for the silver creature.

But there was no dog there, only Kurama. He looked down at his hands, clasped in front of him, his arms loosely around his knees.

I looked past him to the far-side mirror, but the dog wasn't hidden on his other side.

Now that I thought about it, the redhead's reflection was nowhere to be found either.

"What's going on?" I asked the sharp redhead who appeared from his position to have been awake a while longer than I.

"I would guess," he said in a smooth voice that betrayed nothing, as he continued to stare down at his interlocked fingers, "That these mirrors show us the truest form of ourselves." He gestured vaguely with a hand.

"Although... that is one I have not seen in a while," he murmured to himself so quietly I could not be sure that I heard him correctly.

Truest form?

Wait a second... _our_selves.

My head snapped around to look at the silver creature in the mirror, who was busying himself by staring down at his forepaws. I saw it wasn't a canine after all, but vulpine in structure.

A silver fox.

Kurama...

I gaped openly at the creature for so long that his golden eyes eventually rose to meet mine through the mirror with a guarded expression.

Hurriedly, embarrassed now, I put my eyes politely back in my head, closing my eyelids.

After a moment where I paused to collect myself, I shifted my body to the side and turned my head over my shoulder to face the redhead.

"You never told me you were a _silver_ fox," I said with lighthearted accusation, trying to lift the heavy mood that rose like a fog around him.

He h'mmed and said nothing.

"All this time I thought you'd be a red one, you know?" my words continued to tumble out, as if they could singlehandedly fill the awkward silence.

Continuing to kneel, I put my hands on my knees and twiddled my thumbs idly as I watched him.

He still didn't look up. I wondered what had bit him on the tail.

The silence was so tense I wanted to scream.

As I looked back at his four-legged reflection in the mirror, a sudden realization struck me full in the face, leaving me speechless. Appalled, I stared wide-eyed at this man who now seemed like a stranger, realizing that if I could see his reflection, he could surely see _that_ reflected in all five polished surfaces that surrounded us.

I gaped in horror.

My face flushed bright crimson in embarrassment as my eyes darted back to my reflection, making sure that my white-blonde curtain was still playing at modesty.

A hysterical laugh caught in my throat before it could be vocalized.

Then again, what did it matter if he did look? It's not like that... girl was really me. Not that wide-eyed ghost.

She didn't have my scars. She wasn't me.

S-so it's not like he would really be looking at me, regardless. Right? _Right?_

The awful pink on my cheeks didn't go away. As if to prove my point hers remained pale and cold.

I worried my lip and looked back at the redhead trapped in the small room with me.

A subtle shift told me that he had noticed my reaction, as his head turned slightly away so that he was looking at his knee.

I wanted to tell him that it didn't bother me, really. That it wasn't a problem... But I couldn't really say such things convincingly until all the excess blood had drained from my face.

What I needed was a distraction. Something, anything...

"I thought I heard somewhere that foxes supposedly only turned silver after they reached a thousand years of age," I rambled, fidgeting, as I tried to deflect all the mysterious attention around that felt strangely focused on me.

"Some legends are surprisingly accurate," the spirit fox murmured. Despite my attempt at openness, he continued to avoid my gaze, for his privacy or mine I could not tell.

Of course I was surprised, though I tried not to show it. I was sure he could see anyway if he cared to look, but he seemed very focused on shutting me out. I did not think he paid me any attention.

A thousand years old! For crying out loud, just who... what exactly was he? How much else didn't I know about my reluctant teammate? He became more and more like a stranger the longer I sat in this room beside him.

And so my blush didn't fade as I had hoped it would. It may have even grown stronger as I realized that in my embarrassment, I had turned the subject to something he seemed like he would rather forget.

I wondered if underneath his unnerving calm he was angry at me for talking about these things.

"There has to be a way out of here," I spoke up, careful to chose a topic that wouldn't invade his privacy. Besides, he liked solving puzzles, right?

Only his lips moved as he answered me: "This is another dimension we fell into when we passed through the ice. There is no getting out of here now. Not on our own."

Well, at least it seemed he was talking a little more, even if the content of the words seemed very unlike Kurama.

"What do we do now?" I whispered.

A gnawing feeling of fear ate at the pit of my stomach. I wasn't sure of the cause, if it was the thought of being trapped down here in the cold forever, facing my soul's form, in this small room with a man who became more stranger by the minute... It could very well be that, but oddly I thought I might be more afraid of his answer just now. Afraid of his answer turning him further into that person I didn't know.

Kurama's only response was to shrug despondently, though perhaps despondence was too strong a word. He appeared to care very little for the prospect of what would happen next.

I despaired. My whole body turned cold, numb.

The shivering began, and I wrapped my arms around myself to try to get warm. It did little good.

There was nothing to do, so I examined my "true form" in the mirror before me. When I looked at bits of her individually, I recognized them, but together they made a picture that was unfamiliar.

I had known someone very similar, once upon a time, when I was younger and hopelessly naive...

But I refused to believe that I was still the same now, that I hadn't changed at all.

I thought I had grown. I had seen progress... _made_ myself progress.

Is this how I would have been if I had never grown up?

Her pale hair draped over her shoulders.

'_Dumb blonde.'_ Those hateful words floated through my head, making my stomach churn.

No.

_You don't belong here. Get back in my past!_ I shouted at her silently.

I gritted my teeth in a grimace as I stared her down, but her placid face didn't change a muscle.

She sat the same way as me, kneeling, facing me... but those wide brown eyes of hers that absorbed everything unquestioningly...

The girl looked so vulnerable... so cold, naked and alone.

My soul was _vulnerable_.

Even after all these years... is that what it was trying to say?

The purple dye was only skin deep? I hadn't really changed at all?

Here I thought I'd grown up a bit, grown a little wiser... a little colder, maybe... older, certainly.

Who was she?

Who was I?

She was all the things I hated to see in myself.

Everything I'd rather keep hidden forever, locked away from the world so I could continue to pretend it didn't exist and never had.

Still, it lingered on.

There was no escaping it.

I supposed our most vulnerable parts, the ones we would never willingly share... those were who we really were deep down inside. Our "true" selves.

That's who she was.

But who was I?

I decided suddenly that I didn't like this lesson, didn't want to hear any more.

Standing, I ignored Kurama's presence even as my reflection did the same. He wouldn't look; he wouldn't see her.

I paced in front of the mirror.

There had to be a way out. And if there wasn't a way out...

Well, I would make one, of course.

I pressed my hand to the mirror, but it was as solid as I had expected.

Taking a step back, I clenched my fist and sent it flying toward the glass.

A jolt of familiar energy shot up my arm, through my bones as I made contact. An energy that wasn't mine.

I knew that feeling, that unforgettable chill... like death had looked at me and smiled.

Narrowing my eyes, I took on a guarded position a couple steps back, eyeing the unaffected mirror warily. I rubbed my soon-to-be-bruised knuckles; they hadn't even managed to produce a spark.

But I could feel my energy deep within me. What was it doing, dammit? Sleeping?

I paced faster, angrily now.

This mirrored room had to do with Tsuki-Yomi somehow; I was sure of it.

Those enemies of mine... I hated them. _All _of them. Thoroughly and with passion enough to make my blood boil.

They ruined everything, were the cause of everything.

This day that sucked... losing Shimabukuro - - no, being _forced_ to give him up and _lie_ to him while I was at it. I was sick and tired of it.

If they didn't exist, I'd be back home. Everyone would be fine. Everyone would be safe. Shimabukuro would have been safe forever.

Maybe we could have even been - -

Stop.

Don't go there.

They _do_ exist. And as long as they're here, you'll never be normal, I told myself.

Why me?

I didn't want this.

I'd gladly take going back to being that wide-eyed little girl. Growing... down, or whatever they'd like to call it.

If this was growing up, I didn't want it. I hated this responsibility, this urgency... the feeling of so many things slipping out of my control.

Why did they have to exist?

Sparks flew around me.

_Why didn't they _all_ just disappear!_

My fist flew toward the mirror once more, this time with conviction... and the glow to prove it.

I clenched my jaw, angry brown eyes meeting my dumbstruck ones in the mirror.

I howled: in fury or agony, it didn't matter which.

But something happened then that I did not expect.

It was just a flash, just for the barest second.

The pale innocent in the mirror twisted, was deformed. The one in the glass took on taut, charcoal skin, stretched grimly over a skeletal form... grotesque. Her hair twisted and tossed around her head, a white flame unbounded by gravity. Blue-white pits of hellfire burned in her otherwise empty sockets, where eyes should have been, as they bored into mine. Already tight skin retracted to reveal a disturbing flash of a smile.

I stopped dead in my tracks as my heart gave a surprised lurch. Each beat was torturous as I tried to recover from my moment of intense fright.

It was gone now.

As I looked past my trembling fist, still an inch from making contact with the mirror, I saw only a pale girl with wide, brown eyes staring back at me.

But for that one, unsettling moment, she had made a shocking resemblance to something I could never forget, though I had tried many, many times to wipe that horror from my mind's eye...

Dark Rikyu.

What was he? Why was I...?

Was it really some kind of curse that I knew nothing about?

And what did that curse have to do with me?

I shouldn't look like that; it wasn't right. I was a Sleeper, in service of the dream goddess. Only the enemies... only Tsuki-Yomi's minions were that hideously grotesque.

They were made to be that way... weren't they?

So why was I...?

I didn't have any answers.

My legs wouldn't hold, so I stumbled back and collapsed to my knees, limbs splayed awkwardly to either side.

All the while, I continued to watch her carefully as she did the same. Looking for a hint, any sign, that she was about to turn Dark again.

I noticed belatedly that the fox was staring at me now through the mirror, peering curiously into my eyes.

So he had seen it too. It wasn't just my imagination playing tricks on me again. He also wanted to know the answer.

"What - - ?" I croaked out, but couldn't finish. My throat felt so raw. I realized that I had bit back a scream at some point when I had seen _it_.

I sat there feeling disoriented; I couldn't seem to stop shaking my head. Back and forth, back and forth as I looked at the ground. The purple tips of my hair swished side to side in my vision.

"Not to worry. I have already had a disturbing vision of my own, as well," Kurama finally supplied. It was little comfort, but it seemed to be all he could offer. My swaying stopped, at least.

"Are these visions... true?" I couldn't figure out quite how to ask what I wanted - - needed - - to know.

He didn't answer. Either he didn't know, or the news was too awful to share.

I needed something else to think of. _Anything_ else. I was desperate for a distraction.

I guess that's what drove me to ask what came next, as the first coherent thought that popped into my mind went tumbling from my lips.

"It's not fair that you saw mine and I missed yours. Tell me," I pouted half-heartedly, looking down at the floor in front of me, keeping my back to him.

As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I realized with horror that they sat between us like a grenade about to go off, the pin still in my surprised hand.

The muscles in my shoulders tensed in anticipation of the explosion that was sure to follow.

Instead, I thought I heard him murmur something that sounded a lot like: "It is better if you don't know." Looking over my shoulder to see his human face, I noticed that he was frowning at his folded hands again, silent.

The grenade fizzled as it petered out, a thin puff of smoke its only reaction.

It was a strange frown he wore. I couldn't tell if he was angry at me for asking such a favor that was frankly so rude I never would have dreamed of it under any other circumstance, or if he was simply remembering said vision and still feeling... disturbed.

I could think of a lot of words to say, but none seemed appropriate, all things considered. So I just turned back around and watched my "self" in the mirror.

We remained unmoving for a while until, without warning, my reflection moved on her own.

She stood and began to walk away, further into the mirror.

A glimpse of an expression on her face made me jump to my feet and yell after her: "Wait!"

She looked back over her shoulder at me, the arch look still adorning her face.

I recognized that smile. She was hiding something; I was sure of it.

"You're keeping secrets from me," I accused, crossing my arms over my chest and tapping my foot.

She didn't turn, but tilted her head to give me an amused look: "Oh? You noticed?"

The condescending tone made me purse my lips in irritation.

"I want to know what that was back there. _Exactly_ what that was," I demanded, referencing the flash of Dark that had overcome her... me... or whatever she was.

"Don't you even recognize yourself when you see her?" she asked.

I continued tapping my foot angrily.

She sighed and turned back around to face me. I kept my eyes above her neck, even though she supposedly really was me.

"Did you really think you were something good? Some kind of savior for the human race? ... Please," she laughed quietly at me, a mocking sound.

"O-of course not!" I protested, embarrassed. I could see my own faults and limitations all too clearly.

"Then why are you so surprised to see your own wrath? Wrath is a deadly sin, you know. It deforms us greatly," she pointed at me as if to accentuate some idea.

"I'll be the first to admit that I've got some anger management issues," I put a hand over my heart, gesturing to my vulnerable self, "But _that_... that's not possible."

"And what about your pride?" she asked, a look of victory shining wrongly in her eyes.

If she was my true form, why was she acting like she was winning when I was being torn apart?

"Pride," my tongue worked around the word numbly.

"Let's talk about that, shall we?" she continued on as though she hadn't heard me.

I stared in blank surprise. Of course I was a little bit proud... who wasn't? But, surely - -

"Your pride is what almost got that boy killed, you know?" she pointed out blithely.

"Now hold on a second!" I protested, wounded that she would drag Shimabukuro into this, "You can pin my wrath on me in avenging him, but pride had absolutely _nothing_ - - "

She cut me off, "Oh, did it really? You can label that one with both pride _and_ wrath, if you'd like, but it's your pride that got you into that mess. Why did you ever think you could protect someone so fragile, even after dragging them into our affairs, if you weren't proud of your own capabilities, hmm?"

She put a hand on her side of the mirror and leaned closer, staring me down. I backed away subconsciously. "I - - "

"You overestimate yourself. What are you really, but a vulnerable little girl," she gestured to herself, "Who never learned how to grow up?"

I gaped. Somehow, her words all seemed to hit home in places I never thought existed.

"And I suppose you'll tell me next that you're going to drag us further into this mess because of your inability to see yourself for who you truly are. Your pride will be the undoing of you, for inside, all you'll ever be is a helpless, hopeless, weak, pathetic, altogether too _human_ - - "

I couldn't listen to this anymore. The laughter bubbled up through my throat uncontrollably, and I was sure that Kurama was looking at me like I had finally snapped.

But in reality, I was feeling more in control of myself than I had since arriving in this room of self-doubt.

"Alright..." I gasped breathlessly to the now-silent girl in the mirror, "Just who are you, really?"

She missed a beat, losing confidence, "I told you already. I'm your true - - "

"No. You're not," I moved toward her, feeling more self-assured than I had in... hours or so.

She narrowed her eyes at me. "Why are you doubting me?" she feigned insult.

I was very close to the mirror now, and I made sure to stare directly into her eyes when I answered. She fidgeted subtly; the girl was uncomfortable.

"I have never once considered myself as being too human," I said quietly, "How could my soul come up with something like that all on its own?

"And besides, only someone who had never been human themselves could be so arrogant, to not even consider the possibility that being human might not automatically be considered a fatal weakness," I pointed a finger at her, laying my cards on the table.

She hissed now, stepping backward away from me.

Looking through seething eyes, she addressed me, "What would you consider yourself, if not human, you foolish little girl?"

I shrugged: "Wrath... pride... take your pick. The only thing that matters really is that I have a whole lot of energy left to kick your ass from here to Pluto."

I flared my energy as I crouched, "Does this look human enough to you?" I mocked as the lines of light traveled under my skin, glowing eerily.

Cracking my knuckles, I charged, growling out, "All of _my_ problems stem from not being human enough!"

The light cracked the mirror as my white knuckles made impact, and she hissed violently, eyes flashing with untempered rage.

I could feel the dimension shatter then, as the entirety of the mirrored wall split into a thousand pieces and crashed inward toward me.

Thrown backward as the cold, dark water came rushing in, I collided with another body as the last of the dimension was swept away.

Kurama...

It was all black. Where was the surface? Are you supposed to swim, if you don't know where you're swimming to? Or just stay still and hope the air left in your lungs will float you to the top?

I didn't know, couldn't remember. My limbs hung limply in the freezing water.

Something tugged at the back of my jacket collar, and the overpowering pressure of the frigid water was suddenly gone.

But it was cold here too. The light stung my eyes after the crushing darkness.

How did you breathe again? ... Oh, right.

I gasped. My lungs hurt like I was inhaling shards of glass.

The blinding spots of light departed from my eyes, and I saw that it was white all around.

Somehow, we had broken free of the surface of the black lake, and from the looks of things, Kurama had pulled me ashore. I was lying on my back in the snow.

It was even colder now, if that were possible.

I found his face, but though emotions were scribed clearly across it, I discovered that I couldn't read them properly.

Trying to brush off snow as I stood up, I examined the redhead.

Disapproval... that one was easy enough. It had been rather stupid to break a dimension barrier that had formed underwater in the wintertime.

There was a conflicting twist of approval thrown strangely into the mix - - was he impressed that I had realized those weren't our real selves in the mirror? Come to think of it, I had been the one acting when he was doing nothing as far as I could tell. At least, nothing that didn't look a lot like moping.

Relief - - from returning here in one piece?

But there was one intensely negative emotion that seemed so out of place as it shone out of his eyes that I couldn't even put my finger on it. It was fear, maybe... or not fear, but despair of a kind? Agitation deep enough to be agony?

I wanted to ask, but my teeth were chattering so badly I was afraid I'd bite my tongue clean off if I opened my mouth wide enough.

Still shivering, I wrapped my arms tightly around myself in a futile attempt to get warm.

I didn't like the look on his face. It was confusing; I didn't understand it at all. And as I stared up at him, I realized that the look on my face must have been very similar to the one the girl in the mirror had worn - - wide-eyed, vulnerable, even scared... cold. Disgusted with myself, I tore my gaze away.

How could I let anyone see me like that? So pale and weak... It was sick.

He moved, and my eyes jumped back to his, though I couldn't erase the expression that seemed to have frozen on my face. These vulnerable eyes of mine made me so ashamed of myself.

Kurama reached his arms slowly toward me, and my eyes grew wider than I thought they could in surprise, as I tried to figure out quickly what he was thinking.

He froze, hands extended, nearly touching me. What was he trying to do? Why had he stopped?

My breath left thin wisps of fog on the cold air.

Continuing as though he had never paused, he swept an arm behind my knees, the other bracing my back as he lifted me carefully off the ground.

Was my condition that bad to cause him to look at me with such an expression, which on any other face would have almost certainly been called "panic"?

"We need to get you back to the temple quickly," he said, beginning to run, as if this explained everything.

Far from it, but I was much too tired to argue.

Against my better instincts, all my willpower seemed to deflate suddenly. I let my head fall against his shoulder and remained still as he ran - - silently, steadily - - toward our destination.

My eyes closed, but I did not sleep.

.

**AN: These updates keep getting longer... NEVER thought I'd post twenty pages in one update. Anyhow, hope this chapter wasn't too strange for anyone, but between the dream goddess' visions and Tsuki Yomi's dimension-warping it can get pretty odd at times.**

There is now a **story playlist** of sorts on my profile if anyone is like me and would be interested in checking that out. It is in-progress, but currently consists mostly of rock-variants since that's what I'm into at the moment. My music is pretty random though, and I like basically everything, so that could change. If you're interested in checking it out, the lyrics are pretty relevant to the character too, which is the main reason I chose those songs, so you may want to peruse those as well.

I still have a deviantart account where I will be posting some pictures of characters, etc... to go with this story. Check it out if you want. I'm theanonymouspen . deviantart . com (no spaces)

Thank you for reading :)

**Preview: **You know you're just dying to read about **Kurama's vision**, so I'll give you a sneak peek:

"_Detestable, damnable..._

I was wretched, torn.

There was truth here in this place; too much, too much to bear...

Tortured screams woke me."

**Please ****REVIEW****! (Muahaha! I'm so evil...)**


	43. Silver

**This chapter was originally just supposed to be the initial vision, but it got kind of out of hand. Thus, it is basically the last chapter from Kurama's view. I hope it helps explain some things and gives a different and interesting perspective. It was, admittedly, more fun to write than the last chapter. **

**Since no one killed me over the last chapter being too "disturbing" or "inappropriate," I'm hoping I can get away with this chapter as well, although it, admittedly, has a bit more implied violence. Fear not, readers, we are moving back to more normal things after this...**

**Thank you to **_**Skyla15699, Pelawen Night, Puppylove7, akasoeki, Mekia, CheerfulBreeze, wolfcrys, verry-chan, Angel of Randomosity, Isabella of the Night, and xxRedRosexx**_** for reviewing and helping me to break 200 reviews! It's pretty exciting, guys... **

_**. . .**_

"_**I... **__I came here by day, but I left here in darkness,_

_And found you, found you on the way._

_And now, it is silver and silent, it is silver and cold,_

_You, in somber resplendence, I hold..._

_**Y**__our sins into me, _

_Oh, my beautiful one._

_Your sins into me..._

_As a rapturous voice escapes, I will tremble a prayer,_

_And I'll beg for forgiveness._

_(Your sins into me) Your sins into me,_

_Oh, my beautiful one__**." ― AFI : "Silver and Cold"**_

_**. . .**_

I did not know where I was.

And by that, I don't precisely mean that I was lost in terms of location, though all that surrounded me was a blank, white space.

Rather, I did not know where _I_ was.

Although I believed I was looking down, I could not see my body beneath me.

I thought about raising my hands to ensure they were still there, but all was white, and I could not even verify that I had moved.

Can one who is bodiless move?

There was a brief, but terrible moment of panic as I remembered this feeling from years ago... floating, drifting, empty... a disembodied spirit.

_Wait. Logic is panic's prey_.

I concentrated on looking about me, a difficult task for someone without a head, but the scenery seemed to be shifting slightly along what I could only assume was a horizon line.

The blank whiteness moved to reveal ever-changing black patterns...

It was snowing, I suddenly realized. A thick deposition of the frozen water that completely obscured my view.

In my mind I frowned.

I assumed it was snow, although I did not feel cold... could feel nothing to speak of.

I supposed that meant that I really was suspended somewhere, without form. A bit of an odd predicament, for one who had taken on many forms before, living as a four legged fox, a two-legged one, and eventually cloaking myself in the form of a human.

Although I told myself to start walking, I could not be sure if it was I who was moving, or the scenery simply dancing around me.

My nonexistent eyes picked up a motion that did not seem as though it belonged. Something tinged with pink, with life, moved haltingly through the swirling blizzard, falling every now and again only to pick itself shakily back up.

I was blown closer to the living being, seemingly pushed along by the wind.

That pale creature, it seemed, was a girl. She was very young, a child really, perhaps barely past her first decade of life, although I was not a very good judge of human age.

The frozen wind that I did not feel seemed to affect her greatly, and as it whipped her hair - - as pale as the snow itself - - around her head, she clutched her arms around her slight frame and shivered uncontrollably. Her lips looked to be turning rather blue, along with the beds of her nails. That was not a good sign.

The eyebrows that I did not have creased together. What was this vision I was seeing? The past? Present? Future? Was there something I was supposed to do about it? Me, a disembodied spirit?

I had no hands with which to offer aid.

Moreover, I realized that this girl-child would very likely be reluctant to accept any offer of assistance from one such as me - - an apparent male of the species, as it were - - for she was out in this snowdrift without a shred of clothing to warm her.

Was it wrong to feel suddenly grateful for this curtain of snow that froze her so? It dealt with the problem of needing to avert my eyes.

Studying her face cautiously through the swirling white, I took particular note of her eyes.

They were brown.

Plain, in any other terms, but not these eyes.

They screamed out vulnerability. They were pure, innocent, naive.

Her eyes held not a shred of mistrust or doubt about them. They were a direct window into her soul.

On top of these eyes were scribed emotions.

Desperation.

Pain.

Fear.

The fear of death? Of being alone in this blank and endless space, naked and cold?

The girl looked up suddenly, and for a moment I worried she had seen me examining her. But I quickly realized that she was looking straight past me.

She stumbled, passing beside me, and somehow I continued to watch her, turning as she moved behind me. Ploughing along in a fairly straight line, she took on a new air of urgency.

"Hey... you! Wait!" she called, as her words were ripped away from her by the wind.

She had seen another out here in this snow?

I peered further into the white. Up ahead, I caught a glimpse of something moving.

Something grey, whipping around in the gale, quite a few feet off the ground. And another grey something a little lower beneath it? What a strange sight.

The vision brought me closer, as I kept pace with the girl.

"You," she had said. Could it be that this thing before me was yet another being? A person clothed in white?

As we drew toward the direction of the grey, it continued to recede into the distance.

"Wait! Please!" she begged, screaming over the blizzard.

It did not halt its movement, but the pace remained the same.

Giving what seemed all her strength, she pushed herself toward the grey, determined to reach it.

Slowly, painfully slowly, we closed the distance between.

My suspicions were confirmed, for somewhere in the swirling snow, there seemed to be a person, many feet taller than the girl, clothed in white.

The higher grey seemed to be their long hair, thrown to and fro by the wind. The lower patch... I squinted... perhaps a sash of some sort? It, too, was tossed about wildly, and it was hard to keep my eyes on it for long enough to discern its true nature.

The girl had no such qualms about this stranger's nature. To find another living being...

She reached out her hand. I felt the sudden urge to stay her hand, to warn her that her actions were very unwise. What if this being was not as friendly as she hoped?

Was she pushing toward the danger?

I floundered, without arms to stop her.

"Please!" she cried out, grasping the edge of the stranger's white cloth.

The figure turned and I gasped, though none heard. I would have stumbled back, but this bodiless form held me where I was, between the two, able to look at both their faces.

But I could not tear my gaze from his. I recognized that face.

His golden irises were devoid of warmth, colder than the snow that fell around us.

Was that really the way my eyes had looked when I called myself Youko Kurama?

He fixed a hostile gaze on her, and I was torn.

I wanted to push the girl away, tell her to run.

Most of all, I wanted to scream at this abhorrent man, shout that this was someone to protect until my voice reached him.

When had I become the enemy?

Was this a memory, long forgotten in the past?

No, I was certain I had never seen this girl.

But if a situation such as this one _had_ occurred... back when I was diabolical, called the King of Thieves...

What would I have done? What would I have stolen?

I was suddenly very afraid of receiving an answer.

Quickly, I looked back at the girl.

Her eyes were still the same, the same as back then...

Wide, innocent, trusting... she believed with all her heart that this abominable stranger would help her, would not harm her.

I knew better.

No! I didn't want the answer, couldn't stand to hear it, would surely be rent to shreds here, by this terrible wind and the cold seeping into my soul.

In my mind, all I could see was red on the snow. Red everywhere behind my eyes.

_I had changed!_ I wanted to scream.

_This wasn't me anymore! Those loathsome eyes weren't mine!_

_Detestable, damnable..._

I was wretched, torn.

There was truth here in this place; too much, too much to bear...

Tortured screams woke me.

They cut off, as soon as I realized that they were emanating from my own throat.

I raised my hands to my vision. They were present and human... enough.

For a moment, I buried my face in my hands and lost myself in an overwhelming feeling of relief.

It was only a nightmare.

I calmed my mind, steadied myself, opened my eyes.

Youko Kurama was staring back at me, a superior smile I recognized only too well on his devious face. His eyes were just as cold...

Startled, I twitched away from him. What was the meaning of this?

Where was I?

I gave the room a cursory overview. It was very cold here, and the smooth grey stone of the floor did not help matters.

It was an acutely uncomfortable feeling, realizing that the wall in front of me, which Youko stared back at me through, was a mirror. I could read the message as clear as if it had been written there in bold, black letters across the silver pane: this was my true self. This was the one inside.

I turned my thoughts outward, sensing that the space was completely enclosed; the sensation felt very similar to being in a separate dimension. What was this we had fallen into?

We...

That's right. Were was the girl? Where was Friday?

She wasn't far from me, lying facedown on the floor, unconscious. Was she having a nightmare of her own? Her body was curled slightly on its side; compared to my time of tortured rest, she looked oddly comfortable.

Regardless, chances were high that we were in enemy territory.

I moved toward her in an attempt to wake the unconscious girl, ignoring the tall, pale reflection of the fox-thief in the mirror.

As I reached out to shake her, something drew my eyes to the silvered wall on this side.

Her reflection in the mirror... and mine.

I jolted back, flinging myself as far from her in that space as I could, but the image was forever burned into my retinas.

The girl from the nightmare: cold, pale, vulnerable. She was sleeping now, aged by a few years. Ever the same.

Looming over her, reaching out, an abhorrent smile on his coldly confident face...

Calm. Deadly. Superior.

The King of Thieves would take what he wanted. It was what he had always done. Though outwardly, his form had changed, inside that piece of him would always remain. Ever the same.

I choked back a scream until I was certain my throat must have bled. I couldn't wake the girl. Not now. Not for her to see this... this monstrosity... this horror.

She mustn't ever be allowed to see me, not as the monster reflected in the mirror. Was this really my true form?

I couldn't deny that it had been for many long years. Had I really changed, or was I only ever fooling myself?

My mother would be so ashamed if she could see me now.

Facing away from the pale innocent, I pulled my knees up toward me and buried my face in my hands, refusing to look at the images that reflected out from every wall, demanding that I watch.

I couldn't.

This... was this hell?

A great deal of time passed in this cold, quiet space, unable to be determined in any tangible terms.

It was too much time, really. I spent it reflecting on my true form. Trying to figure out who I was inside.

Perhaps I was a few years too advanced to be having an identity crisis, but I imagined this would be much what it felt like.

I couldn't deny the evil things I had done, things I'd accomplished with these blood-stained hands.

My sins were not erased simply because I stole a human form, clothing myself in it when I came to this world to hide. If anything, my crimes would be considered greater for that single act.

I still had much to atone for, but it was impossible for one life to ever compensate for all the things I had done, the evil I had inspired.

Hesitantly, afraid of what I would find here in my own personal hell, I looked up.

A silver fox stared back at me from the mirror. The creature smirked but for a moment, as if to remind me of the two-legged demon inside, before its face went flat.

Still, a chill tinged its golden eyes, ill-concealed as it sat still, looking into mine.

A sound alerted me to the fact that the girl was waking up. My eyes, gold through the mirror, darted toward her shifting form.

Somehow I froze, growing impossibly more still.

Slowly, she sat up, kneeling in front of the mirror opposite mine. Out of a sense of moral obligation, I averted my eyes. I didn't need to give the beast in the mirror a reason to think I needed another reminder, another lesson... Or a reason to show the girl that horrifying truth. She would scream, surely. Scream and try to run.

Already, I felt like the lowest, most despicable creature imaginable. And, strictly speaking, I hadn't done anything to the girl.

_Yet, _the lesson said to me.

But no, even that wasn't true. I had tried to kill her once already.

Shame, burning shame... and guilt.

For a brief moment, my eyes flashed, alarmed, up to her abdomen in the mirror, afraid that I would see burning red welts and the marks of thorns reflected back at me, shouting what I had done. There was nothing but smooth, pale skin. Quickly, I cast my eyes away.

I felt a startled shift in her motion as she seemed to discover the girl in the mirror that was her, in a way.

Deliberately, focusing on keeping my conduct impeccable, giving nothing for the beast to use as fuel, my golden eyes went straight to hers as she caught sight of me through the mirror.

She frowned at my fox guise, full realization still far off as she peered curiously around the room.

No matter. She would realize soon enough; whenever it was, it would be too soon.

Every movement carefully thought out, I averted my gaze purposefully to look down at my hands clasped before me. There was no direction in which my eyes had capacity to wander.

Out of the corners of my eyes, I could see her fidgeting as she looked my direction in the room.

"What's going on?" she questioned me, not realizing that she was asking me to surrender my only protection - - her ignorance - - in the process of answering.

"I would guess," I tried very hard to keep my voice even and emotionless, "That these mirrors show us the truest form of ourselves." Releasing a hand from its interlocked position, I gestured to a mirror, keeping my eyes exactly where they had been until the hand returned.

"Although... that is one I have not seen in a while," I murmured to myself, not intending for her to hear. Why had I even let those words leave my lips if that was the case? I certainly wasn't doing a very good job at keeping things covert.

Her head snapped around very fast, as she made the connection. Every pore radiated surprise, but she said nothing. I couldn't see her expression like this. Frustration overwhelmed me.

If I could only just look up, I might be able to tell what she thought of this... of me like this.

Carefully guarding the emotions in my eyes so they would not betray me, I looked up at her eyes once again through the mirror.

She was gaping with perhaps one of the funniest expressions I had ever seen on her face, but I found no humor in it. Maybe after this was over, I would look back on it and chuckle... depending on the manner in which this misadventure ended.

Embarrassment overcame her then as she realized she was gawping, and now she hurriedly averted her gaze, closing her eyes on her emotions.

I looked back at my hands.

She seemed to deliberate over what to say: "You never told me you were a _silver_ fox." Her attempt at nonchalance was not all that convincing.

But she didn't know the truth behind the silver fox... and the monster that lurked there.

It started as a groan of pain, but I think I managed to twist it enough to turn it into an apathetic hum.

"All this time I thought you'd be a red one, you know?" her words came faster now, nervously spilling forth. She fidgeted idly, eyes keen on me.

I wanted to crawl out from under her gaze. What would she see if I allowed her to look too closely?

Even the thought of it...

I never thought I'd care so much what this girl thought of me. Maybe it was just the thought of a human being really seeing _me_ for the first time since I'd come to the human world... their reaction would forever be the one that told me how humans would respond to the... real me.

She suddenly tensed as a gasp she didn't seem aware of rushed past her lips.

What had she seen? Was she going to scream? Run?

Alarmed, my eyes darted up to the mirrors quick enough that she wouldn't notice, trying to determine what she had seen there.

I examined the fox for the barest second. No... thankfully, it was the same creature, looking rather placid now.

My gaze jerked to her reflection beside mine, to see what was wrong, and just as swiftly moved away.

Oh. Of course.

She had just now figured out exactly what my view would be if I cared to look up.

I brought my gaze in even closer to me, looking at my knee that was furthest from her very deliberately, trying to make myself as unthreatening as possible...

Hah. Unthreatening... what a ruse. Could one who contained Youko inside ever be anything _but_ threatening?

Still, I couldn't let her see me and run.

If letting her scratch the surface of my own ugly inside and refraining from looking at her truest form was all it took to satisfy this human... to prevent any adverse reactions...

I supposed I would have to sit here and bear it, or forever carry with me the memory: the pain of being rejected in my ugliest form.

Could I count on her not to look too closely? Not to notice the evil inside?

His fur was clean, silver, beautiful by human standards. Would the packaging distract from the message this mirrored room meant for her to see?

I hoped so. I hoped with all my might that it would be so.

"I thought I heard somewhere that foxes supposedly only turned silver after they reached a thousand years of age," she said into my tense silence.

Silver. That was good, right? If she focused on that, maybe she wouldn't notice other, more undesirable traits.

A thousand years is a lot of time in which to do evil...

I murmured an answer back at her, determined to have her consider me trustworthy... someone who was receptive to her questions.

She seemed surprised. Had I affirmed her conclusion that I was over a thousand years old? I couldn't remember the exact words that had slipped from my lips, but I supposed she must have thought so.

Insignificant. I could afford to let that truth be known.

I must appear calm, collected, try to avoid having those cold eyes of Youko's.

"There has to be a way out of here," she said. Was she really changing the subject? Had something about my answer been unsatisfactory, made her afraid to stay here longer?

I tried not to move. Not to disturb her further: "This is another dimension we fell into when we passed through the ice. There is no getting out of here now. Not on our own." After the words left my mouth, I realized that they weren't very comforting.

That wasn't so bad. Maybe if she worried about that instead, she would turn her focus away from me. I could escape this place undiscovered, unscathed.

"What do we do now?" she whispered.

Survive.

I shrugged. Let her keep her mind occupied with such trivial things.

There was quite a bit of motion from her half of the reflections from then on. She finally resorted to pacing. I didn't look up, lost in my own thoughts.

She punched the wall, and I flinched a bit, not expecting her to be so sudden or straightforward.

I kept my eyes down until the sparks started. She charged the mirror with a glowing fist and I looked up warily.

Something happened then. A demon of her own in her reflection.

It seemed to shake her deeply, to her very core.

Perversely, I was relieved. I wasn't the only one who was so monstrous on the inside.

I realized that I had been openly looking at her face for too long when her eyes met mine. I had been caught. My only hope was for most of her attention to be turned inward.

"What - - " she croaked out, confirming my suspicions.

But suddenly I felt guilty for reveling in her... preoccupation with her own personal nightmare.

The words won the battle with my will."Not to worry. I have already had a disturbing vision of my own, as well," I said to her quietly, all the while never meaning to give those words away, compromising the foundation on which she viewed me.

"Are these visions... true?" she asked.

I halted. What drove her to consider asking such a pointless question? Of course they were true... weren't they?

It wasn't hard to imagine that Youko would behave in such a way... but the girl...?

I frowned. What was the truth?

The next words out of her mouth caught me completely off-guard in the middle of my whirlwind of chaotic musings: "It's not fair that you saw mine and I missed yours. Tell me." It was half-hearted, her probing, but it speared through me, piercing to my core. Fortunately, she didn't look up to see the anguished expression that I couldn't keep from spreading across my face.

Why on earth would she want to know such a thing?

She did not know what she was asking of me!

"It is better if you don't know," I choked out through gritted teeth in a voice that I hoped sounded calm.

Yes, knowing such things certainly wouldn't help to improve her already less than favorable impression of me.

She looked back at me, over her shoulder this time. I continued to look down at my hands, but could not keep the frown from my face as I contemplated what I had seen. My fingers shook, and I tightened my grip so as not to give myself away.

I could feel myself growing very close to losing it, to not being able to contain the truth from her anymore. It felt already like it was slipping out through all the cracks that I let appear in what was supposed to be a calm facade, my unshakable mask...

I was saved by another disturbing vision that came to her as her reflection began to move on its own.

Conscientiously, I watched the reflection only out of the corner of my eye, seeing just enough to determine what was happening.

"Wait!" Friday called out and I flinched, painfully reminded of my own nightmare.

And with that single word I was pulled under again, so lost in my own hellish reminisces that I couldn't even focus on much of their conversation. Something about wrath, pride... they did not matter to me, as long as her reflection now that it was speaking did not give me away. Survival was paramount to me now; nothing else could occupy my mind for long.

I took to watching the emotions that passed over Friday's face as her reflection spoke to her. They told me much; her own nightmare, it seemed, was hitting home.

When the girl began to laugh, my attention jumped into sharper focus as I tried to unravel what was going on. Had she snapped under the pressure?

"Just who are you, really?" she asked her reflection. Hadn't I told her?

The reflection apparently thought the same, but as she began to answer I noticed her confidence had dwindled.

Friday cut her off, certainty in her straight-shouldered frame. She knew that this reflection was not her, but how?

Did she simply not recognize her own true self? For what else could this reflection be that knew so much about her?

The reflection demanded to know why the girl was doubting her. I was curious to know the same.

The girl's answer surprised me. She wasn't human enough? Her reflection's assumptions about her... were wrong?

How could she know so surely? I envied her certainty, wishing with all my heart - - if I could even claim one for myself, one that was not borrowed or stolen - - that I knew my demon inside was wrong about me.

I wished I could say with such absolute assurance that I was better than that. I had thought I was, before the nightmare began.

Now, nothing was certain.

Truly, the girl didn't look very human as she charged the mirror with light shining out of her skin.

And at this point, the reflection wasn't even bothering to deny it - - hissing, glaring...

I noticed for a brief second that the reflection who had been speaking was now the sole image occupying any one of the mirrors. The foxes that were my true reflection had vanished completely, along with the other four of Friday's counterparts.

The freezing water drowned out my thoughts as it hit me with a deafening roar.

Something crashed into my arms and then we were swept away, separated...

The fog that had numbed my mind lifted as we were set free from that abysmal room and the testing we had endured there.

A flash of purple caught my eye in the dark water. What was she doing? She wasn't moving. Had she given up? Died? Is that why she was floating there, immobile?

I grabbed her collar and pulled her with me to the surface of the pond, hauling her out of the frigid water and up onto the snow that coated the bank in a thin, white layer.

She coughed and finally opened her eyes. When she did so, I froze. This was one last test.

A girl in the snow, looking at me with those vulnerable eyes, filled with all the same emotions.

I felt the emotions on my own face that I couldn't hide.

The residual mix of disapproval and approval at her recklessness when orchestrating our release from that oppressive dimension...

But those emotions were nearly smothered by the tide of agony and fear that swept me up as my nightmare stretched into reality.

The girl was shivering. Her lips were blue. She put her arms around herself and stared up at me with those eyes... naive, trusting, hopeless...

Scared, but not of me.

She looked away as she caught herself staring with those eyes, embarrassed... but even as she looked back up at me, it seemed she couldn't divest herself of them.

As I looked at the girl, I became aware of another emotion so estranged from the others that it felt out of place on my countenance.

Relief. Perhaps... I could still be redeemed.

With that realization, my actions were already decided. Somehow, it seemed my subconscious had been aware of my decisions before I had ever consciously unraveled them.

The girl was right. Those nightmares had been just that. The ones in the mirrors had never been true reflections.

I reached toward the girl, to help her, to carry her back to where it was safe.

Halfway extended, I froze.

Just because that reflection wasn't really belonging to me, did that mean we were so different?

A flash of horror crossed my face as I realized that the Youko who had been would almost certainly have acted as his likeness predicted.

Perhaps the one that couldn't read humans well had demons understood with chilling accuracy.

The truth remained unchanged, no matter who presented it.

I was Youko.

Ever the same. For a thousand years and more, unchanging.

_No,_ a part of me whispered._ Doesn't the very fact that the thought brings you pain mean you have changed? Wasn't there a piece of you that wanted to do good? To protect others from this evil?_

I reached down to pick her up, cradling her cold form in my arms cautiously.

"We need to get you back to the temple quickly," I said, determined. Before she froze... Before I stretched myself beyond my limits.

I did not want to be the predator in the snow, hunting my prey with cold, golden eyes.

I was surprised when her head lolled against my shoulder. She was relaxed, it seemed, oblivious to my inner turmoil, doubts and fears that were strong enough to shut out even the agonizing cold from my senses.

How was she so comfortable here? Suddenly, I was overwhelmed with the burning desire to ensure that she had not seen what I had seen...

That her dream hadn't been a nightmare, one where I was the villain.

"It's unusual for you to sleep," I said, trying to find a natural way to broach the subject, so that her suspicions wouldn't be roused.

"Can you call unconsciousness 'sleep?'" she asked wearily with a sigh.

"Did you dream?" I questioned back. That seemed a fairly natural approach.

"Mm..." she muttered quietly, exhausted, "I don't know if you could call it a dream exactly... It was... a vision maybe... _She_ was there."

"Who?" I inquired. This was vital information.

"The dream goddess," she replied drowsily.

Muscles I didn't know I had tensed relaxed, but if she noticed, she showed no sign.

"Is that so..." I murmured politely under my breath.

The dream goddess, was it? Protecting her follower from the evil effects of that mirrored dimension, perhaps? It seemed the girl had at least been guarded from the hellish sleep that had taken me.

"What about you? Did you have a dream before..." she wasn't sure exactly what she was trying to say. Her tiredness worked to my advantage. I managed not to tense up too much as I contemplated what answer I could get away with giving.

"No dreams," I lied easily, trying not to destroy my image of being trustworthy.

"I thought," she yawned, trying to open her eyes, "You said you had a vision."

I ran in silence a moment. How could I answer without her concluding that I had lied?

"Just something from the past," I replied quietly, "Nothing to concern yourself with."

"Is that so..." she murmured, as she let her eyelids flutter back closed.

.

**AN: Kurama's darker shift in thinking in this chapter was meant to reflect his reverting to a more Youko-like frame of mind while under the influence of those visions that were causing him to struggle with self-doubt. He hasn't gone over to the bad; never fear! If you noticed, his thoughts were a little more uplifting toward the end, although certain characteristics of Youko seem to have stuck, and he will have to work those out on his own time. Just thought I'd clarify before you all started sharpening your pitchforks.**

The song "Silver and Cold" has been added to my profile as **Youko's "theme."** When I heard the lyrics, I thought of him in the past vs present. And no, I don't really consider this as having written Youko in (yet. I won't leave him out for long :P) since the vision was, strictly speaking, simply a Youko impersonator which may or may not have been true to his person (past, present, future, whatever).

**And yes, I'm enough of a nerd that it bothers me to extremes that the title of this chapter is "Silver" but it's chapter #43 instead of 47... So close... I have failed you, periodic table! **

I still have a deviantart account where I will be posting some pictures of characters, etc... to go with this story. Check it out if you want. I'm theanonymouspen . deviantart . com (no spaces)

Thank you for reading :)

**Preview: **Their awkward situation finally over and done, Friday still has the aftermath to look forward to... along with all its consequences:

"What would I say to him, when I saw him again? One thing was certain: it was sure to be awkward, to say the least..."

(I hope the next chapter isn't too late! Next week is finals week, so I'm not sure I'll have time to work on it until the weekend. My apologies in advance)

**Please ****REVIEW****! (I really want to know what you thought of Kurama's vision!)**


	44. Restricted

**Sorry this chapter is late! (And a bit shorter than the last ridiculously long chapters.) I had to rewrite a bunch of it because it was so boring I couldn't even stand to finish it. Bleh. Never fear! This version is better. And we'll get back to more action-y stuff in the next update :)**

**Also, please ignore me if I start spamming your emails unintentionally. I'm going to try to go back and fix some little errors I've found in past spelling/grammar. Also, I've been informed that some of the page breaks may be missing and wrecking havoc with the POV-changes and confusing everyone. **

**There may possibly be a chapter 45 coming out before next Friday as my apologies for being so late, so keep an eye out for that though :)**

**Thank you to **_**blindeye2020, yugiyukiyuseiyuma, Isabella of the Night, Pelawen Night, wolfcrys, akasoeki, and B **_**for reviewing!**

_**. . . **_

"**A**m I still breathing? Have I lost that feeling? Am I made of glass, 'cause you see right through me?

**I **don't know who I am, and you're the only one who sees that. I can't ask these questions that cannot be answered today...

**A**nd even if everything goes wrong, and we start to fall apart, I will understand where you are. I will understand this by myself.

**A**nd I don't need to hear your answer. I just need you to feel like there are no boundaries at all...

**A**nd how far have we come? Too far to throw away the past. Will you be there waiting for me?

**I** have to ask what we are. If I ask today, it just won't last. So I'll be here, waiting for you**..." - Trapt "Made of Glass"**

_**. . .**_

The familiar sight of the temple slipped in through my cracked lids as we bounded across the snow with long strides.

"Hey..." I said, as his green eyes slid down to meet mine.

I looked up at the redhead from my position in his steady arms as it suddenly turned uncomfortable.

"You can put me down now. I can walk... Please," I murmured, humiliated by even the thought of the others seeing me like this.

His eyes spoke plainly that he thought it was a bad idea, but Kurama did not hesitate as he obliged my request, setting me firmly down on my own two feet.

I was tired... so tired. Swaying a little, I focused on the line of the horizon and made myself be still.

The trip back had been brief, but even the little strength I had recovered on the way was the only reason I could stand on my own now.

I brushed off my jacket for a moment, although the brown leather was still as damp as the rest of my clothing.

There was nothing wrong with the garment, really. I just hoped he wouldn't notice my discreet attempt at making sure I could stand properly before I started to walk and fell on my face.

I took a hesitant step as he hovered nearby, obviously impatient and trying not to show it. Kurama clearly didn't think it was a good idea to remain out in the cold any longer than was absolutely necessary, what with my lips turning blue and all.

After ensuring that my legs worked properly, I cleared my throat awkwardly and murmured a "thanks" toward my teammate, keeping my eyes fixed on the stable horizon.

He didn't answer as we took the last few steps toward Genkai's home, stepping out from the cover of the trees.

And for once, I wondered if his silence was a sign that he did not know what to say.

.

.

.

I dipped a toe into the bathwater Botan had hurriedly drawn up for me in the huge Japanese-style tub after I had come stumbling into the temple on frozen feet with Kurama trailing behind me.

"Hot!" I yelped, hissing under my breath as I retracted my foot and sat on the edge, slowly trying to ease myself into the warm water that felt scalding hot against my icy skin.

It took a good few minutes, but finally I slipped in past my shoulders. Drawing my knees into me, I let my chin rest on them, just below the waterline.

Absentmindedly, I blew bubbles in the bath, as my mind wandered to places I wasn't sure I wanted it to go.

It felt as though I had just witnessed something intensely personal in that enclosed, mirrored space. Something about the silver fox had made my redheaded teammate acutely uncomfortable, and he had done a poor job in hiding it. So poor, in fact, that I was dead certain that the image of his "truer self" had disturbed him greatly. Usually, he was cunning enough to hide such things.

But aside from his cunning and composure, I was now made keenly aware of the obvious fact that I knew very little about the spirit fox. So little that I had been caught completely off guard at seeing the vulpine he so clearly recognized.

Who was this man that wasn't really a man at all?

This spirit fox with a human mother?

This ever-polite teammate who kept himself so painfully isolated in all the ways that mattered?

Who was he really, that he would kill a human child when the others would not, in those tapes I hadn't been meant to see? Even if, as they said, the child had later been returned to life.

The bubbles stopped as these dark thoughts sapped the will from me. It seemed a thousand years was plenty of time to rack up scars... skeletons in your closet. I should never have asked about his vision, even though he had not told me. It was private, after all. The guilt was acute, painful now, passing beyond simple embarrassment.

And if my own vision had been agonizing, after only twenty years to gather regrets, his must have been at least 50 times more so... judging by the color of his fur.

Was a fox turning silver like men getting grey hairs?

Jeez... he must be freaking ancient...

I gathered up the courage finally to submerge my head in the hot water. The burning sensation on my ears was enough to distract from my troubled and distressing thoughts. Purple tendrils of my hair rippled in the clear water like seaweed.

I stayed under for a while, just listening to the sound of my own heartbeat as the heat enveloped me. When my lungs finally started to burn in a different and unpleasant way, I whipped my head up abruptly, breaking free of the surface of the water with a loud splash as my hair fanned around my head and slapped my back as it completed its circle.

"Oh!" a small gasp caused me to look over my shoulder, "You surprised me, Kuronosuke-san."

Yukina examined me carefully, her eyes giving me a cursory examination to ensure I wasn't in any eminent danger of frostbite and that the water had been treating me well.

"Sorry about that, Yukina," I replied a little sheepishly.

"No, that's alright," she said as she approached and laid a towel down on the edge of the tub beside me.

I propped an elbow up on the rim and watched her calm face.

"May I?" she held up her hands, and when I concentrated I could see the characteristic signs of healing energy trailing across her palms.

Nodding, I faced my back to her.

Yukina placed her small hands on my shoulder blades, and a soothing feeling radiated out from them, slowly working through tired muscles as it spread throughout my whole body.

When she spoke into the long silence, it was with a frown in her quiet voice: "Your body... it's frozen."

"That's odd," I said, as a pensive frown to match hers spread across my face, "I feel fine. Here I thought the water had been doing a pretty good job of thawing me out, too."

I felt her shake her head behind me. "No, that's not it. I hadn't noticed before... When I have tended your wounds it has been rather localized, so I suppose I didn't realize it sooner, but... your body... it feels... well-preserved."

Her hands dropped, "I'm not sure how exactly to describe it, Kuronosuke-san. I haven't come across anyone who felt like this before, but it really does feel frozen somehow... every organ, every cell... if I let my energy focus on them long enough, then I see that they are not dividing as they should. Everything is stuck, probably exactly the way it was when..." she trailed off, catching herself about to remind me of that day when I first became trapped here. It was too late, of course, but I recognized the effort. She was a hard one to get angry with, besides.

"It is fortunate, at least, that your body still retains the power to heal as it normally would. I wouldn't have expected it to be so, under such circumstances," Yukina mused.

I remained silent for a moment. This, of course, was not news to me, although it seemed Yukina hadn't realized. I was a bit surprised that Botan hadn't mentioned it, since she was the one who had pointed it out to me in the first place, when my roots had failed to grow out.

I tried my best to distract Yukina with some lighthearted joking, saying, "Well, lucky me my body decided to get stuck at a convenient time of the month. That would have been my least favorite part of this vacation, otherwise." Vacation. Ha. I laughed inwardly at my own dark humor.

My joking distraction backfired when the ice maiden looked up at me with wide eyes, and responded, "That's right. I forgot humans don't bear children from the seeds of a fruit. Kuronosuke-san, you can't... have children now?" Her eyebrows creased together in a concerned way.

"Hey, hey," I waved my hands at her, as if I could wipe that worried reaction from her face, "What's that face for? It would be pretty inconvenient to have children at the moment anyway - - not that I even have anyone I'd want to _have_ said children with. And I'm sure, when I finally get back home, my body will return to normal too. So don't worry yourself over such a small thing." I shrugged my shoulders and smiled at her. She smiled back timidly, but her eyes still looked a little bit sad.

I restrained a sigh and sank a little deeper into the water.

Like I could think about such domestic things now anyway. About the only thing on my personal list was "avoid Rikyu's creepy advances." Besides that, I didn't have much of a life of my own, besides being a living weapon for Reikai. Frozen or not, it didn't seem to affect my performance as a Sleeper much.

"Thanks for looking me over, Yukina. But I feel fine, really," I tilted my head back over the edge of the tub and looked at the ice maiden upside-down, smiling to reassure her.

"Hai," she conceded, and smiled back. Leaving it at that, the small girl got up and left me alone with my thoughts. She always seemed to know when I wasn't in the mood for talking, probably because she was a woman of few words herself.

To avoid thinking about the unpleasant things happening to my body - - things that made me feel even further from human than I already was - - I directed my thoughts toward a marginally more comfortable subject that had been tugging on the back of my mind.

Kurama.

What would I say to the spirit fox, when I saw him again?

One thing was certain: it was sure to be awkward, to say the least.

.

.

.

"You smell, fox," the flat voice announced from a darkened corner of the room.

The redhead turned halfway around, his gaze wandering unconcernedly toward the shadow.

"You did just catch me about to shower, Hiei," he said with a casual shrug. The offending garment, a damp shirt, was tossed over a towel bar to dry.

The irked fire apparition was not to be deterred, however, as he crossed his arms firmly over his chest in an indication that he had no intention of leaving just yet: "Explain."

Seeing that he had no other choice, the redhead heaved a long-suffering sigh and resigned himself to explaining why he was covered in the scent of the Sleeper girl whom he had carried all the way back to the temple only a few minutes prior. One thought of the girl's face as she asked that he put her down told him plainly that she would be humiliated if she discovered that he had given such information away freely. And it was in Kurama's best interests, after all, to quickly give his friend the details he desired - - though not more - - before the demon could get too far in his suspicions.

On Hiei's part, he was still quite convinced that the redhead's dislike for the Sleeper girl had continued nearly unabated since the beginning. This was not entirely true, although the degree and nature of the change were things the redhead could not quite begin to explain, for their very essence seemed to elude his penetrating gaze whenever his introspective gaze focused too closely on it.

Hiei shifted with a rustle of fabric, bringing Kurama out of his thoughts abruptly, as he tried to determine how much information was best to share.

"We came across one of Tsuki-Yomi's dimensions in the forest," Kurama began, causing crimson eyes to widen slightly in unvoiced surprise.

"I do not think there is any need to inform the others. As of now, the danger is minimal," the fox added hastily. He had no desire for any of his friends to ask prying questions that would endanger the secretive cloak within which hid the nature of his true being. The comparative danger of any probability of a remaining trap - - one that would be activated by a non-Sleeper, no less - - was minimal, and the redhead brushed it off as inconsequential.

"You are certain you eliminated the threat completely?" Hiei confirmed, reluctant to keep quiet if there was present danger - - particularly with a certain ice maiden having taken up residence at the temple - - but unwilling to betray his friend's request. There was something that the redhead was not saying, but from the look on Kurama's face, Hiei knew he would not appreciate further questioning. The fox would reveal to him in time whatever he desired to share. And that was that.

Their entire friendship, after all, was built off that one basic understanding.

"Miss Kuronosuke destroyed the dimension. If there are any traps of a similar kind, they wait only for her presence to be triggered, and she is not the type to fall so easily for the same trick twice..." Kurama trailed off, turning the shower knob and letting the stream of water run as it heated up in an excuse to look away from the sharp-eyed demon. In actuality, the fox was only half-present, as he was reminded of how utterly incapacitated he had been by the visions, lost in the horror of his own personal hell and the silver beast that awaited a single slip, a momentary lapse of judgement.

But the fox's actions did not completely hide the familiar glint of gold in his agitated eyes as he turned away from his long-time friend.

"Youko was there?" Hiei asked in brief surprise, his eyebrows climbing upward.

Slowly, Kurama turned back around to look at the fire apparition, his eyes showing nothing more than a disapproving green. "Have you been reading my mind again, Hiei?" he asked with a hint of a frown.

"Hn," Hiei grunted with an offended look on his face, but said nothing more than a cutting, "You think so little of me, Kurama."

The redhead sighed, but dropped the charge. He should not have been surprised to find that Hiei knew him so well, but it was easy to forget just how sharp the fire apparition's own two eyes could be.

To pacify his friend, Kurama let a few more words slip past the barrier he had not intended to cross, "Youko... put in an appearance."

Hiei's eyes narrowed - - a little smugly, the redhead thought - - as his suspicions were confirmed: "It looks as though I was right to be concerned. Is that why her scent is - - "

"No," Kurama cut him off abruptly, the word more harsh than intended.

Hiei's disgruntled look at this downward moodswing caused the redhead to bend a bit further: "My... counterpart appeared there as a true fox. However, I do not think the girl understood the full implications of what she was seeing..."

Any appearance from Youko couldn't be a good thing. This was especially true if the Youko who appeared was the one of ages past, the one who was not just a fox in body, but in heart and mind also. Wild and deadly, past remorse...

And Hiei knew Kurama had not shifted into his other, purer form since the Makai tournament. Surely, the two counterparts were no closer to becoming one than they had been before.

Putting such a creature together with the naive girl was a volatile experiment.

"He... behaved himself?" Hiei verified in astonishment, keen eyes searching for a hint of deceit in the fox's green eyes.

Kurama nodded, adding, "Well, for the girl's part, yes. Although, from what I have seen, I would have to conclude that our earlier suspicions were correct. Tsuki-Yomi has complete control over any reflections within his dimension... and possibly without, as well."

Hiei was not quite sure what to make of the fox's cryptic remarks, but it was clear he could get no more out of him today. This, in turn, made the fire apparition respond a little more testily than before. "Hardly a very threatening skill," he snapped, glaring at the wall.

Kurama just raised an eyebrow, asking wordlessly if there weren't things Hiei would rather leave buried in the dust of time.

The fire apparition decided not to press the matter further.

The water was running warm now, and it tingled over Kurama's fingertips pleasantly, the startling contrast making him realize just how cold he had become during his time in the snow.

"You should warn the others to stay away from mirrors for the time being," Kurama mentioned conversationally, as he turned back toward his friend, "Tell them - - "

But Hiei was gone from the shadowed corner.

Kurama shook his head slowly, as the fleeting shadow of a smile danced around his lips.

Typical.

.

.

.

"Friday!" I heard Botan's voice calling my name from the other side of the door, "Everything alright? You've been in there a long time..."

She slid the door open and let herself in as I muttered a quiet, "Yeah. Just thinking."

I wasn't even sure she heard me as she made her way over. "The water's gone cold!" she announced, dipping her fingers in and looking at the bath disapprovingly as if it was somehow at fault.

"Oh. Has it?" I mumbled absently.

"You shouldn't sit in cold water like that. You're already at a high risk of catching a cold, walking through the snow all wet and frozen the way you were..." she pursed her lips and shook her head as she admonished my behavior.

"Hai, hai," I responded and climbed out over the side, grabbing up the towel Yukina had left with pruned fingers.

Botan talked my ear off as I dried myself and shrugged into a set of clean, loose clothes. I tried to make all the appropriate sounds, but I wasn't much in the mood for conversation.

She had been chattering for a while now, but it wasn't until she said the redhead's name that I really started listening. Suddenly, I was anxious, as I worried that he had, for reasons unknown, told the others about my embarrassing plight.

" - - Kurama's already left, so I know you can't be taking that much longer to thaw out. Even Yukina said you were alright when she checked you..."

My brain wandered once more.

How silly of me. Of course he wouldn't have said anything. After all, he had seemed much more uncomfortable being in that place than I had been. With him carrying me back like a helpless baby, I supposed that made us even. We could keep each other's silence. There was too much trouble to be had ourselves in bringing up the other's secrets anyhow.

Oddly, through it all, I felt a strange mix of relief and disappointment that the enigmatic redhead had already left. It dealt with the problem of finding something to say to him, at any rate.

And I had bigger fish to fry just now. As I'd sat in the tepid bathwater, I'd been doing more than simply wrinkling. For a long time, I had thought about this body... the things I knew about it and still more things that were partially hidden from me.

For instance, that hellish reflection in the mirror... my Dark form... Even though the being in the glass hadn't been me after all, did that mean that there was no connection? Was there really such a thing as a curse that turned beings Dark? And if so, what did it have to do with me, if anything?

I wanted to know, suddenly hungry for knowledge, for answers to my multitude of restless questions.

With tingling fingers, I finished up my loose, messy braid and draped the towel over my head to keep it from leaking water onto my shirt. Separating from Botan - - who was in a talkative mood, as usual - - I wandered until I found the wolf I was looking for. He was standing alone in a room, looking out of an open door into the forest beyond as the sun dipped behind the trees, leaving a swath of shadow that stretched like ominous fingers reaching out toward the temple.

My mind was already made up to confront Hati about my recent revelations, and so it wasn't as hard as I would have expected to walk straight up to him and demand to know the truth.

At first, he gave me a somewhat blank look.

I wasn't planning on letting him get away so easily, however. If he wanted to play dumb, so be it.

"I don't know how much of your memories are really forgotten, and how much is simply you trying to spare me, but I would appreciate it if you don't try to hide things from me from now on, Hati. As head Sleeper, I have a right to know, don't I? Tell me everything you can remember about their Dark forms, and... if there really is some sort of curse, I want to know that as well," I said firmly, repeating questions I had asked a long time before which had gone unanswered ever since.

"Don't give me that look. I'm a big girl; I'm sure I can handle it," I snapped, crossing my arms.

"I don't know what you mean by saying that I'm trying to hide things from you," he replied smoothly, turning his nose up in the air in an insulted gesture, and looking at me out of the corner of a scarred, silver eye, "My life has been a long one; there is not time enough to tell you everything. So I will tell you the truth as you need to know it, Sleeper. Everything that pertains to you. But my life is composed of a great many years, and there are a number of things in the past that have been forgotten with the passage of time... Accept what I can give you, Friday. You do not need to know more."

I pursed my lips, his answer only making me ever more certain that there was something he was keeping from me. What was Hati hiding? Whether the deception was intentional or not, I certainly didn't appreciate it.

My eyes narrowed dangerously. Somehow, I thought his standards and mine of things that pertained to me were rather drastically different.

"I see," I said curtly, and dismissed myself, walking back toward the hallway. If he wouldn't tell me the whole truth... well, I supposed I'd just have to find out for myself. Preferably _before_ Tsuki-Yomi decided to confront me with anything else that left me stunned and useless in shock.

As I rounded the corner, I thought I caught a whiff of roses faintly lingering. Annoyed with my wandering mind, I shook my head to clear it of any more such frivolous thoughts and stalked off to the far end of the temple.

As much as I despised traveling by Spirit World portal, I was out of options. I turned the communicator over in my hand as I thought about my plan. It would be best to contact George, after all. It was better for me not to have anyone asking unnecessary questions, and the ogre had years of practice with keeping his mouth shut. Plus, he had a certain healthy dose of respect for my position as head Sleeper, which couldn't hurt my cause. And if I _did_ have to involve Koenma... well, it was sure to go much more smoothly if I could catch him off guard.

I pushed a button and waited for the familiar blue face to come into view on the screen.

"George," I said in a clipped tone, "Please send a portal to the far east wing of Genkai's. Oh, and I would appreciate it if you didn't mention it to anyone. My current business at Reikai is my own."

"Uh... certainly," his brow creased, a little puzzled with my request, but within moments there was a swirling blue portal before me, just large enough for me to climb through.

I dropped onto the pristine tiled floor at the end of one of Reikai's less crowded hallways, my stomach still lurching in complaint over the ride. I did my best to ignore it.

"Thanks, George," I said in passing to the blue ogre beside me and padded off down the hall, my towel still draped around my neck.

I found my way through trial and error to the small room that Hati had been using here in Reikai, the one piled high with all the documents. It was where he went whenever he needed information about our case, and I hoped there was something recorded in the long histories there that would help me make sense of everything that was happening to and around me.

Hati had tried looking into my mysterious and novel condition already, I knew, and I was certain that if there was anything that needed my urgent attention, he would have told me so. The wolf didn't wish me harm. But I wanted more than that. I wanted to know the truth, the whole truth.

I wasn't content with living my life in a dim box, no matter how comfortable and safe the ignorance was. If stepping into the searing light was what it took to clear me of my blindness... well, then... I guess I had just proven to myself that I would go to such lengths to reach it.

The door was simple, made of wood, but I recognized it by the strange, sparse etchings around the door. They looked a little like faded runes drawn by an inexperienced hand, and trailed off like the carver had simply lost interest and wandered away.

I reached out a hand to a whorl the size of my fist in the wood; it appeared as though it served as a peculiar kind of doorknob, and so I pressed inward on it.

Nothing. I tried again, pushing harder this time, then putting all my weight behind my efforts. The door remained stuck fast.

Bending down, I peered at the whorl in the wood, noticing only just now the tiny keyhole barely visible beneath it.

My eyes narrowed in annoyance.

I stalked down the hallway to Koenma's office in a foul mood.

Pausing before the large double doors, I listened for any sounds other than the usual stamping of papers, but there was no one else besides Koenma, it seemed.

Slowly, I opened the door and hovered just inside it, as my eyes confirmed what my ears had already told me.

Koenma yelped, dropping his stamp when he finally noticed me there, leaning against the doorframe. It must have been the irritated scowl on my face that did it.

"F-Friday. Ah... Ah... W-what are you doing here so suddenly? It's unusual of you to drop by unannounced nowadays."

His unwise comment reminded me of the way things had been, when I was sure I had a human body - - if a bit of an abnormal one, which could pop up wherever it pleased when my eyes closed in sleep. The contrast between then and now was the reason I was here, snooping around, in the first place, and the cause of my subsequent negative mood.

My lips pursed, and I approached the young ruler. "The room that Hati uses is locked," I announced, putting on an air of surprise as I arched an eyebrow.

"O-oh, is it?" He gulped, but the way his eyes shifted told me this particular piece of information wasn't news to him. Koenma's hand inched toward something under the desk, and, hearing a slight clink of metal, I guessed he now held a hidden key in his tiny, toddler fingers.

"There are some things I'd like to look up. Might I have the key?" My voice was painfully polite, casual under eyes that smoldered.

The young ruler had to clear his throat before he could speak: "I'm afraid that the room belongs to King Yama, and only those with special permission such as Hati or the goddess herself have permission to access it. And I couldn't help you if I wanted to. You see, the door has been sealed and Hati is currently holding the only key. You'll just have to take it up with him, I'm afraid."

The toddler prince shrugged and went back to stamping his documents far too casually, without any of the normal grumbling or whining I had come to expect.

If I could take it up with Hati, I wouldn't be here in the first place. Funny, I would trust the well-intentioned wolf with my life, but not with this. The truth was too important. It could be used to manipulate or destroy... to change the course of an individual.

If there was something he couldn't tell me, it was because he was afraid of my reaction. But that was exactly the kind of thing I needed to see.

The thought came to me that if Koenma, prince of Spirit World was involved in this obstruction of truth as well, it probably had something to do with fear of repeating the mistake they made with that former detective - - Sensui or whatever it was - - who had seen some unfortunate tapes and gone mad or something. They obviously didn't like to talk about that screw-up they'd made. I'd already seen some ugly tapes, though, and I hadn't gone crazy just yet. But this nonsense... this was sure to make me go ballistic if I didn't resolve it fast.

I leaned over the desk and held out my hand, the other obscuring the document before the prince. His stamp hovered uncertainly.

"What are you - - "

"Please don't play games with me, Koenma. I know you have the key. It's in your hand under the desk right now, isn't it?" The young ruler began to sweat nervously.

If the toddler prince wouldn't give it to me freely, surely it wouldn't be too hard to take it from him by force. And I knew I was a valuable resource as the only head Sleeper. That should give me some room for negotiation, shouldn't it? What was the worst they could do? Have me serve time in the service of Spirit World, fighting monsters? Things wouldn't be much different, in that case.

I leaned closer, whispering now as I caught his eyes and refused to let him out from under my sharp gaze: "Look. You may think I'm this great person with impeccable moral standards, but I'll tell you now that I'm not above pulling a few strings to get what I want. So how about you just let me have the key, hm? I'll keep quiet, and you can forget all about this little dealing. It will be back in your hands before Hati can even realize it's gone missing." I cocked my head at him.

There was an excruciating pause, where he squirmed under my intense focus. Finally, he sighed and brought the key into view. I held out a hand, keeping my eyes locked on his, as he relinquished it.

As I turned without another word, I heard him mutter behind me something that sounded painfully like: "Maybe you really are soulless, after all."

My eyebrows creased. Was that yet another possibility? The reason why I hadn't passed through Spirit World when whatever became of my body happened?

My frown deepened. Just another thing to add to my long list of questions. Questions that would hopefully be answered imminently...

I slipped off silently down the hallway, making my way back toward Hati's room of research materials. The key fit the lock, and this time it opened without any trouble. I shut the door behind me, and the busy hum of oni at work cut off abruptly.

It was still and silent.

Careful not to disturb anything accidentally, I delicately peeled books off the shelf, unrolling scrolls here and there with a light touch. There was a wealth of information underneath my fingertips. I was certain that if this place couldn't give me answers, there was nowhere else in the three worlds that I could go - - besides, perhaps, to the dream goddess herself. For that matter, Tsuki-Yomi was also quite likely to have the answers I sought, but I doubted I'd ever have a proper conversation with the deranged god or his psychotic sister to learn anything worth knowing.

The room was stuffed floor to ceiling with papers in various incarnations. A veritable hoard of knowledge... The only problem was, not a single document was in a language I could read.

Certainly, there was no English script. Even the texts written in kanji were in short supply - - not that I could decipher those anyway. But the majority of the documents seemed to have been written in some ancient script, perhaps before the lands of Japan or China had even developed a written language of their own.

Was this the language of gods? Demons?

Hati was fluent, it seemed. But unfortunately, I was not. The knowledge made me half-mad as I was thwarted once more in my silent search for the truth.

But instead of throwing the last scroll across the room as I wanted to, I rolled it up carefully and slid it back into the waiting vacancy on its shelf. Despite the unstoppable growl of frustration that rose in my throat, my hands remained steady as I swept the last of the evidence of my presence here neatly away.

More vexed than ever, I quietly fumed all the way back to Koenma's office after making certain the door to Hati's room was tightly sealed and locked behind me, everything exactly as I'd found it.

When I arrived at the grand doors of the office, my mood was only soured further by the presence of a familiar red head of hair which was seated facing Koenma. I still had not made up my mind what to say to the fox, if anything. I had no patience left for this awkward encounter just now.

And why was he here, anyway? I couldn't think of a reason besides reporting on Tsuki-Yomi's dimension. It made me scowl for a moment, until I remembered that these two weren't so chummy as all that, and Kurama wasn't one to spread his secrets around.

Still, if that baby had called him in here to keep an eye on me... There would be hell to pay.

Their heads turned as one to look at me as I walked halfway into the room, keeping my thoughts to myself. I had nothing to say to Kurama at the moment, and so I opted for ignoring him completely.

I tossed the key at Koenma wordlessly, and he fumbled but caught it before it hit the desk.

"So... any luck?" Koenma asked in a prying voice that came across half-curious, half-reluctant to know the answer. Apparently, he didn't care whether Kurama got involved in our underhanded dealings.

I nearly growled out the words: "It's all in some ancient script. I can't read it." It was exponentially more painful to admit my defeat out loud, despite the fact that this ancient knowledge wasn't something that should have belonged to me in the first place. I supposed I should count myself lucky that I could even speak Japanese as well as I could when I was pulled over here.

"I told you not to waste your time," the prince said as he put the key safely away.

The smug look on his face only served to fuel the flames.

I clenched my jaw in frustration, as my eyes flashed briefly with a bright sliver of light directed in my vexation at the toddler prince. He jumped slightly and shivered as my brief display of anger took him by surprise.

But I swallowed any words that would have escaped my throat and, turning on my heel, I stormed out of the room with tight fists, past a very surprised blue ogre that waited in the hallway with a large stack of documents. Good. I hoped the mound of paperwork buried that condescending little prince.

It was only as I reached the end of the hallway that I realized I never had figured out why the redhead was in Spirit world to begin with. But by then I was already at the elevator that had recently been set up as a permanent, one-way portal out of Spirit World. I pushed the button marked with a large, black "3" and waited for the floor to drop beneath me as it opened up in a glowing circle that would take me back to Genkai's.

My stomach churned in anticipation.

.

**AN: Okay, lovely readers. I have a special announcement to make. If you never listen to another recommendation I make, please at least consider this. I was recently watching **_**Twelve Kingdoms**_** again, and was reminded of how much I love this obscure anime. But my heart broke a little when I saw that one of the companies responsible for producing the DVD was named something along the lines of "rare and hard to find anime." No joke. **

**I have to say that 12K is one of the best shows I have ****ever**** found in terms of character development and takes the cake for the most unique, amazing world. It even rivals YYH as my favorite anime, which no other show has ever done. I believe the reason it's so obscure is that the characters are so annoying in the beginning that you get the urge to strangle them all. I never would have gotten through it if I hadn't been warned in advance to persevere. Sugimoto is psychotic. Yoko, the main character, is a total crybaby... but by the end of the series she grows into my favorite female anime character ever. Yup, ever. And it only gets better as the series goes on. Some of the later arcs are my favorites, actually. **

**Why do I mention this to you guys, specifically? Well, if you're reading this, I'm assuming you like strong female leads (Yoko), rather serious supernatural plots (yup, there are some pretty awesome demons), and worlds that are like a playground where your imagination can run wild. Did I mention there are Chinese unicorns? Awesome, right? At least try it out for the first seven episodes and you'll start to see the character development. If you don't like it, how much have you really lost? I'm assuming some of us are coming up on spring break, anyway ;] **

**I love this series enough to plead on its behalf, so that has to mean something, right?**

**Update to deviantart! **I still have a deviantart account where I will be posting some pictures of characters, etc... to go with this story. Check it out if you want. I'm theanonymouspen . deviantart . com (no spaces)

Thank you for reading :)

**Preview: **

"If you think I'm untrustworthy, send me away," Friday said, her eyes still focused on the now-vacant space before her.

The air between was dark and still, heavy in the wake of the troubling scene.

"You know I wouldn't," Hati responded a long moment later.

She kept her silence, standing apart from rest of us as we watched with curious eyes. The wind gently tossed her purple hair, causing it to catch the moonlight in an ever-shifting reflection.

"Get your priorities in order, follower of the dream goddess," Hati's low voice stretched across the clearing toward her, reminding her of the duty she had taken on from the beginning, as the wolf turned and walked stiffly away.

**Please ****REVIEW****! (Then go watch 12K. {**_**Cough, cough.} **_**Shameless promotion.) :P**


	45. Mirage

**Fridays are becoming a hell day, so rather than apologize for being late (again ) I'll just say that I plan on updating once a week from now on. So if I don't make it by Friday, hopefully the weekend holds better prospects.**

**Thank you to**_** Pelawen Night, Skyla15699, Puppylove7, Mekia, B, **_**and**_** wolfcrys **_**for reviewing! I wish I could respond to all of you directly, but if I can't, just know that I appreciate you too! :3**

_**. . . **_

"**'Y**ou must be very patient,' replied the fox.

**'F**irst you will sit down at a little distance from me - - like that - - in the grass. I shall look at you out of the corner of my eye, and you will say nothing. Words are the source of misunderstandings.

**B**ut you will sit a little closer to me, every day**...'" - - Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, **_**The Little Prince**_

_**. . .**_

We went out soon after I returned to the temple, but Hati gave me my space and did not question when I separated from the group to hunt on my own.

It seemed that he was trying to be considerate of me, and for that I almost felt guilty. But I could not quite bring myself to feel too troubled over the fact that I had entered into the locked room where Hati kept his records without his knowledge or consent, especially considering that I had found out nothing from that venture.

I did not particularly want to hang out around the center of the still-lively nighttime Tokyo, and so I wandered around the edges of the large city. Using what Hati had taught me in some of my first lessons, I stretched out my awareness reluctantly, finding the exercise still nearly as difficult as it had been for me at the beginning.

I veered in my light jog as a strange yet familiar energy popped dimly into the back of my mind. Heading toward the unexpected source of the sickly, wavering light, I crashed my way through the underbrush of a forest, moving further away from the center of Tokyo. As the loud sounds under my feet made me cringe, I once again envied the smooth way Kurama could cut through even dead leaves such as these without even the faintest whisper of a sound. That just wasn't within my capacity.

It was odd that those belonging to Tsuki-Yomi would be found so far from the main hub of life in the cities. Even odder still if this guest was who I suspected it was...

Sure enough, as I broke through into a less dense clearing, I saw the commander Koa, standing tall and unwaveringly straight as he hovered in the air, arms crossed over his bare chest. His blue-black hair floated about him in a state unaffected by gravity as he peered down at me with inscrutable ice-blue ices.

The commander did not look the least bit surprised to see me, but I assumed the loud crunching of dead leaves had given me away.

I brought my fists up in a guarded position as I shifted my weight subtly. Still, his arms remained calmly crossed and immobile.

It was strange, to see that he appeared to be doing nothing in particular.

"What are you doing here, Koa?" I asked, suspicion layered thick in my tone.

"Sightseeing," he said in a voice so flat I could not tell if he meant it to be a joke.

I ground my teeth together impatiently, waiting for him to attack.

When he remained as still as a statue, I reluctantly lowered my guard a bit, deliberately giving him an opening.

"Did I miss something?" I asked sarcastically, "Because the last time we met, you wanted to skewer me." My hand smarted briefly in memory.

"I would rather not have this come to a fight between us," he replied tonelessly.

"Why, afraid you'll lose to a girl?" I goaded him on a bit, still expecting him to strike.

"No," he didn't even bat an eyelash, refusing to take the bait, "It's just that you, little Sleeper, are hardly worth my time."

My fists clenched at my sides. "Now that's just insulting," I said with a short, humorless laugh.

It didn't seem very sporting to launch an attack without provocation, but we were enemies, after all. There was really no way about it.

Further dialogue would get us nowhere.

And so I didn't give him any time to prepare, but launched myself full force at him, pushing strongly off the ground as the light sparked briefly around my feet.

Brilliance gathered around my fists, and I pushed toward him. He dodged, and my eyes could barely follow the seamless movement as he simply relocated a foot to the left, and I passed right through the space where the commander had been.

I caught myself on a tree branch, booted feet landing heavily against it as I propelled myself back into the air toward Koa in a quick turnaround.

Again, he simply shifted aside, all the while keeping his arms crossed, not even bothering to call his sword to his hand.

I landed on the ground, and he looked with disdain down at me from the corner of his eye.

He was even faster than I had remembered. Maybe even quicker than that bastard Rikyu, and here I couldn't even work up the same angry energy around this commander as I could the other. My lips twisted slightly in annoyance. Where was my edge?

It's not like there weren't plenty of things to be angry with this guy about. He had even attacked Keiko, after all. I couldn't let him get away now. Certainly not if I was planning on facing Yusuke ever again.

I rose up to attack, driving my body even faster as muscles tensed uncomfortably from the force of the power behind my push off the ground. This time Koa was forced to block. As our arms connected briefly, there was a quickly-passing flash of darkness over him, and I was reminded of my own mirrored reflection... my Dark form.

Using the force of his blow, I flipped backward, breaking the unwanted connection. Without pause, I shot like a bullet toward him once more.

And as selfish as it may have been, ultimately it was my desire to have the answers to all the unresolved questions that finally drove me to overcome the commander in a way that I could not have done even a minute before.

I caught him off guard, intentionally passing by him. In a flash, I changed my trajectory, appearing from behind where he had left himself unguarded. My hand on the back of his neck, I took him down to the ground in a spray of dust and decaying leaves.

He stood taller than me as he righted himself on the forest floor, but my hold remained unbroken in a silent threat.

With keen eyes, slightly aglow in the shadows cast by the thin canopy of trees, I focused on the sliver of his face that I could see as the commander slowly turned Dark.

So it wasn't just Rikyu; he could do it too.

"What exactly are you, Koa?" I demanded, tightening my grip.

I looked closely at my own arm then, but it remained unchanged - - no creeping darkness, no skeletal form...

"That is hardly your concern," he replied, seemingly unconcerned by the fact that my glowing hand was currently poised around his exposed neck in an unshakable hold. I knew from my experience with Rikyu what severe damage such a strong light could do to these Dark beings. He had to have at least been sweating, even if he didn't show it.

"Wrong. It is my concern because I wish to know," I replied.

"Why do you bother yourself with such a trifling detail?" he scorned with a frown.

"That is not _your_ concern," I stated, "Now, I'm willing to make you a deal..."

He closed his eyes and shifted his head forward slightly as a strange expression came over his face. The corner of his mouth that I could see curled up slightly in a smile that I was surprised to find on the serious face of the Dark commander. I felt him shaking beneath my fingers, and as his breathing quivered in an unusual pattern, I realized that what was happening was something I would never have expected from the commander in a thousand years - - Koa was laughing.

My frown deepened and my eyes blazed brighter, feeding the glow that curled around my fingers.

His laughing breath cut off, and I wondered if the feeling of my hand on his neck burned.

Koa's life was literally in my hand. But oddly, I found that what I wanted most at the moment was not an end to the battle - - the end I should have desired. There was a slight twinge of shame at this revelation, but I couldn't turn back from this path of selfishness now that I had already set foot on it. Not when my curiosity was eating away at me from the inside until it filled every thought, burning all else away...

"I'll let you live, Koa," I told him, "But in exchange, I want you to send the commander Rikyu here to me. Surely he won't object."

I continued, tilting my head as I tried to lighten my tone, "You see, I would like to have a frank conversation with him here on neutral ground. No tricks, no foul play... just a talk. That's all." Rikyu was much more likely than this one to give me the answers I needed.

Koa's gaze was calculating and frigid: "What are you playing at, Sleeper? What do you want?"

"Me? I just want answers..."

His eye that I could see narrowed in suspicion.

There was a pounding in my ears. Was my blood really rushing so strongly?

"Tell Rikyu that I will be waiting for his favorable reply," I said by way of conclusion, releasing my hold on the back of his neck. He drifted leisurely away, slowly turning around to face me as his Dark form cleared.

As the glow faded from my eyes, so did the pounding halt in my ears. I realized only then that it had not been my own rushing pulse, but the sound many pairs of footsteps. Hati broke first into the clearing, followed closely by Hiei, Kurama, Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Botan.

They halted in surprised, blinking in confusion as they examined the composed scene.

Koa rubbed his neck absently where my fingers had been, but moved no further away as this would have been difficult, being at the edge of the clearing as he already was.

"The commander Rikyu is indisposed at the moment. You should know what that means, Sleeper," Koa said in a tone that sounded almost resentful, if he could be attributed with such a feeling behind that emotionless facade.

So he was still injured from that incident with... with the orange haired boy.

"Is that so..." I said nonchalantly, ignoring both the sudden pang within me and my teammates curious, baffled gazes that passed back and forth between us, "Then tell him... I'm retracting my offer. The next time I see him, I fully intend to punch his light out." My tone had darkened unintentionally as I recalled Rikyu's past offenses. I had thought I'd be able to overlook them long enough to interrogate the commander, though if my questions wouldn't be answered either way...

But Koa simply ignored the threat in my final warning and disappeared, chuckling darkly. He didn't seemed worried about his own life in the least, even after that display. It irked me.

Hadn't he felt even the least bit threatened with my glowing hand on the back of his neck? He had to have been concerned by it, if it had at all the same effect on him as it would on Rikyu. They were similar beings, linked by darkness.

Couldn't light vanquish the darkness?

.

.

.

"What... what were you doing, Friday?" Hati's voice came out sounding strangely harsh, strained. It mimicked the confusion in my own thoughts, although perhaps I had more of the pieces to the puzzle than he.

The girl had wanted answers, maybe even desiring them more than all else... enough to call a temporary truce on this long-destined battle.

What had Miss Kuronosuke's proposal for Koa been? Was it really rendered void now?

I wondered vaguely if it wouldn't have been much simpler for those tied to Spirit World simply to provide her with the answers to her questions.

Miss Kuronosuke did not turn to face us, even at the wolf's distressed tone.

"If you think I'm untrustworthy, send me away," was all Friday said, her eyes still focused on the now-vacant space before her.

The air between was dark and still, heavy in the wake of the troubling scene.

A slight breeze rustled the leaves on the floor of the clearing.

"You know I wouldn't," Hati responded a long moment later.

She kept her silence, standing apart from rest of us as we watched with curious eyes. The wind gently tossed her purple hair, causing it to catch the moonlight in an ever-shifting reflection.

"Get your priorities in order, follower of the dream goddess," Hati's low voice stretched across the clearing toward her, reminding her of the duty she had taken on from the beginning, as the wolf turned and walked stiffly away.

She ducked her head, but the silence remained unbroken. Finally, she lifted her gaze and exited the clearing in the opposite direction that the wolf had gone.

Miss Kuronosuke did not return with us that night.

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.

.

It was a perfect Spring day. The sakura tree bloomed bright on the grassy bank. As a breeze caressed its branches, a few petals drifted smoothly down to join the others that floated delicately on the surface of the calm, clear lake.

On the grass along the water sat two people, young lovers. He was dressed only in a pair of loose-fitting pants, soaking in the vibrant light of the peaceful day. She wore her light kimono, the traditional attire for a woman on such an afternoon as this, but her hair was not up as it should have been, as it fell instead around her shoulders, gently played by the wind.

The pink of the cherry blossoms was tranquil. The blue of the sky painted with joy.

It was a different time then - - a time of strife, toil, and sorrows. But here, at least, there was a small bubble of peace. Whether it was made so by the land itself or by the couple who came there, it could not be said for certain.

But still the warm breeze blew through the boughs of the great tree, and the pale petals continued to dance as they drifted slowly downward, and the clear water cast a perfect reflection of the couple as they sat on the green, green grass, side by side.

No shadow could ever reach them there.

She leaned up against his side, her head resting tranquilly on his strong shoulder as they gazed out over the pool, without a ripple to disturb its peaceful surface.

He looked down at her, then, and as she turned her face up toward his, he caressed her cheek. Brushing her silky, black hair behind her ear, he reached up to place a perfect, pink blossom in her soft tresses.

And between them there wasn't a hint of shadow to dampen their joy. Their sublime peace seemed as though it could continue on forever, trapped eternally in a single memory, a blip of time.

If that peace could be frozen, it would be the most perfect garden ever made, and kings and queens would come simply to sit in the presence of the radiance of such quiet love, such calm understanding.

They sat on the bank for a moment and all eternity, until eventually they rose in mutual agreement, as he helped her to her feet without a word.

And together, they walked down the path that would lead them into the future of a thousand moments of peace to rival this one.

They walked a long while in a lucid silence, before the man spoke.

"Do you love me?" he said, for it was a question to be affirmed.

The woman, her silky black hair now braided full of perfect pink blossoms turned her face up toward him: "I will love you ever and a day."

Her soft voice was itself like an embrace. As it washed over the man, it filled him with the most exquisite joy.

They walked together, hand in hand, content to wander forever, so long as they were in the other's presence.

Her hand eternally in his.

A faded picture, taken out to view time and time again until their very faces had been worn away.

And the young man turned his gaze down toward the woman, his pale blue eyes saturated with all the tranquility of the clear pond without a ripple, and smiled.

_Forever_.

The footsteps from behind pulled the man from his trance-like state; slowly, blue eyes like ice slid open.

"Where did you go?" Rikyu grumbled as he leaned on a crumbling pillar to support his weakened frame.

Koa simply remained still, seated with his hands loosely resting over crossed legs, gazing out over a clear pond without a ripple on it, which was embedded in the black tile that stretched on forever in all directions.

"That is hardly your concern," he answered flatly into the empty silence.

"Keh," Rikyu turned his head away from his fellow commander.

Koa was content with silence, but still Rikyu hovered, crossing his arms to display he had no plans to move anywhere, as he gazed without direction.

The commander was reminded unpleasantly of the Sleeper's impudent request.

Of course, he had never had any intentions of informing Rikyu. If the fool knew what was good for him, he would stay as far away from that mortal woman as was possible.

As quickly as a flower, she too would fade. Such was the fate of all mortals.

His cold eyes slid over to the half-healed wounds on the commander Rikyu's torso. Though perhaps, if she had her way, the fool would go to his eternal rest before her.

"There is a good site, in sector C76," Koa threw the commander Rikyu a tidbit to distract him, and hopefully get the irritating man out of his hair, "I believe it would do nicely. Why don't you go see about setting it up? Even in that state, you should be capable of that much, correct?"

Rikyu ground his teeth. "Of course," he snapped.

A portal opened instantly beside Rikyu, and the hotheaded commander disappeared quickly through it, leaving Koa in his dark space of shadowed peace, as he gazed out over the lake, its surface as smooth as glass...

Forever frozen.

It had been a beautiful dream, but it was never his to keep. All dreams belonged to Her.

.

.

.

Everyone had heard the saying - - keep your friends close and your enemies closer. So, either way, I felt I had a certain obligation to be here, keeping an eye on the girl... Miss Kuronosuke.

Although the last thin sheet of snow had since melted, the chilled breeze still ruffled my short, red hair as I approached the temple.

Around the corner of the building, a waving tendril of purple caught my eye and I made my way toward it.

The girl sat on Genkai's porch, leaning up against one of the sturdy wooden pillars. She appeared lost deep in thought; a dark mood hung like a nearly visible shadow over her.

I paused in my steps, trying to deduce what she was thinking about.

Most likely, the thing that had continued to bother her stemmed from the disturbing Dark reflection that had been shown to her in Tsuki-Yomi's mirror.

That was right, I hadn't actually had the chance to talk to her privately since the event.

I shifted my weight to lean against one of the wooden beams from my position on the ground, hands in my pockets.

What was I going to say to her? Would it be right to approach the girl like it was any normal day?

Then again, I supposed on a normal day I wouldn't have approached her.

This was more complicated than I had expected.

Perhaps it was time to set things right between us.

Despite the scene of last night, I did not believe that the girl was trying to deceive us. The deal between her and Koa was off... no, it had never been completed in the first place. And I, of all of us, knew best that what the girl was after was an explanation to the Dark creatures. Who better to ask than the Dark ones themselves?

I couldn't find it within me to hold such a thing against her. In her shoes, I was not certain I would have believed the things told me by Reikai either. I would have sought on my own for answers, even as she was doing now.

Although she had things she pursued for her own personal benefit, the girl had proven time and again that she was not untrustworthy.

If I were being perfectly objective, I would say she had been good to us.

Yes, she was a reliable teammate.

Perhaps...

My brow creased in a slight frown, as I struggled to admit it even to myself alone.

Perhaps I had been wrong about the girl.

Was it time to make amends?

I contemplated apologizing to the Sleeper girl for all our previous misunderstandings, all my earlier rashness that I couldn't even blame on my more feral counterpart. There was no denying that my errors had been fully my own.

But, looking at the side of her frustrated face as she stared off into the distance, I realized that she had brought some manner of interest to my own life.

And thinking back to all our squabbles and her irate expression under my teasing, her sharp retorts back...

The way her brow creased in a rather comical glare, as if she could hope to harm me...

The girl's bold expressions stamping her thoughts across her forehead in plain sight even without a Jagan of my own...

More often than not, the girl was to me an open book, not terribly difficult to understand. Even so, I found the contents continued to entertain.

And I realized I rather enjoyed our interactions as they were now, even with their harsh edge.

The slight upturn of the corners of my mouth was unexpected, but I let it be.

Looking down at the ground to find what I was looking for, I bent over to retrieve it.

My green eyes sparkled in amusement.

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.

.

A pebble bounced hard off my arm, leaving a small red welt.

"Ow! Jeez…" I complained, grumbling darkly as I looked around.

Kurama stood there on the ground off the porch, hands now in his pockets, but I knew he was the culprit. I wasn't quite sure what to say to the fox, but before I could even think about telling him off, he began to speak: "I'll admit I don't know much about Sleepers. I do, however, know about training. Stand up."

He turned to go, and I followed his command, puzzled, but surprisingly pleased. My look of bafflement was replaced by an unstoppable grin, but I smothered it before he could see.

I was glad that things had stayed the same between us. With such an uncomfortable interaction now present in our past, I'd had my doubts. But if he could brush it off and pretend that nothing had happened... well, then, so could I.

"You jerk. What kind of a gentleman goes and mars an unsuspecting girl's skin?" I retorted loudly, trotting to catch up to him.

"Don't worry. You have plenty of scars already. That bump will be hardly noticeable in comparison," Kurama assured me pleasantly, and I pouted fiercely in reply.

.

.

.

"No more," I grumbled, breathing hard, "Yeesh. Can't a girl get a break?" I flopped back exhausted onto the hard ground.

Covered in dirt and a various assortment of shallow scrapes, I laid on my back and looked up at the oval of grey sky that I could see above the trees.

"Hardly a wise strategy," Kurama said as he walked casually up toward my feet, "In a real battle, your opponent wouldn't let you have your break."

"Well, this isn't a real battle," I muttered under my breath.

"Oh, isn't it?" he said. I tilted my head up momentarily to see his green eyes twinkling in amusement. Frowning, I let my head touch the ground once more, sure that my purple hair was already full of dirt.

"Sure, sure, Mr. Fox," I grumbled, unthinkingly. As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I had a brief moment of panic. I wondered if calling him that was taboo now that I'd seen his fox reflection that had obviously disturbed him in some way, though the reasoning behind his reaction was still a mystery to me. I peeked up at the tall redhead uncertainly.

His eyes just continued to sparkle silently with humor. His pose was relaxed.

His unquenchable expression of light amusement was getting on my nerves. I frowned, pouting silently.

"I'll give you three seconds to think of a better strategy. Frankly, this one is not acceptable if you expect to beat me," he scolded, and dismissed the green whip that he held loosely coiled on the ground.

Annoying. Mr. Fox probably thought that he was safe there by my feet, out of the reach of my dangerous hands.

My three seconds were almost up, anyway. I knew he would keep his word and attack as soon as they were done; I could always count on him to take a fight seriously.

So, with a slight grin, I adapted a move I had learned what felt like a lifetime ago in dance. Arcing off the ground, I kicked my feet up off the ground, sheathing them instantaneously in light.

I spun on my hands, swinging my legs around me. As the growing circle of light widened in an after-glow, he jumped back out of range.

Startled, Kurama used the forest for the first time in the mock fight. Vines dropped down to secure me, and I found myself unexpectedly suspended upside down in the air.

I bounced a little as the vines adjusted their grip.

"No fair! I don't want to fight you in a forest!" I shouted at the fox, vexed. Here, he had a whole arsenal of weaponry at his disposal, and I had only my feet and fists. Ridiculous.

The scars on my torso peeked out from under the edge of my shirt as I struggled, swinging myself up as I tried to rip the vines off my legs with fingers edged in light.

Before I could make much progress, the vines suddenly loosened, and I dropped heavily, raising a small cloud of dirt as I landed.

"Fine, then..." the fox said, as he reached back into his hair and transformed the selected seed into his signature rose whip, "I will leave my surroundings untouched."

It wasn't any easier.

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**AN: So, this chapter was exciting to write, although I'm not quite sure it came out as exciting as I had hoped. Haha. Part of this chapter has been written since, oh, around chapter eight or so :P I had to change it a bit to fit with the way the story ended up flowing, but it's still exciting to get to share it at last! Also, I've been dying to introduce Koa's vision. So I hope you all enjoyed it :3 His story is actually one of my favorites and will be continued in later installments :}**

I still have a deviantart account where I will be posting some pictures of characters, etc... to go with this story. Check it out if you want. I'm theanonymouspen . deviantart . com (no spaces)

**If anyone wants to see story art which may be posted between the chapter updates, feel free to watch me on deviantart. If you have any desire to do so, creating an account is free and easy, and there's some great art to be found there :) Entirely up to you, but just thought I'd let you know.**

Thank you for reading :)

**Preview: **Checking story schedule... Ooh. Lots of exciting stuff :3 Enjoy a brief excerpt...

"_What is your duty, Sleeper?" the wolf asked the question once more. _

_Her response was not immediate, as she stared seemingly into nothing, her eyes still blazing with a bright light, unrelenting in its brilliance. _

_The girl was quiet for so long that I had nearly given up on hearing an answer, and so it surprised me when she opened her mouth and spoke in a hollow tone. "How can I protect anything with bloodstained hands?" she said, each word releasing light from behind numb lips. _

_With keen, emerald eyes, I took in her appearance. The blood was like sleeves up past her elbows, splashed in a wide stain across her shirt. It reeked, fresh and warm. _

"_You can't expect to protect everything without dirtying them," Hati replied quietly. _

_She made no reply to the whisper, so quiet that I wondered if she had even heard. _

**Please ****REVIEW****! (Pwetty pweeeese :3 )**


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